The Legend of Zelda: Rings of Dualty
by FerreTrip
Summary: The Master Sword has -always- been carried by just Link. But when a threat so large, one alone is too little, comes, it's time to initiate a Plan B the goddesses made in three rings. Link must now share the legendary blade with...a lizalfos! This is gonna be different...A tale with dungeons  original ones  and other game mechanics woven into the plot. Please review if read!
1. Two Paths, Two Beginnings

_The Master Sword. The weapon weilded by the hero chosen by the godesses to save Hyrule from evil and restore peace. The blade of evil's bane. Each time its hilt has been grasped, its blade has tasted blood(or clay, or stone, or metal, or grass, or...you catch my drift), its handguard has clanked against its sheath after battle, it has been done in the hand of a green tunic-wearing hero, named Link, or one of his same-named decendants. Countless times has it defeated foes, great and small, and more times than should occur has it struck down Ganon, or his human form of Ganondorf. And, every time its journey ends, it rests in its pedestal, from whence it was drawn what would have felt like centuries before, when really, it was only a matter of days._

_Every time the Master Sword has recieved a new master, its master has been that hero, Link, be he a small boy or a young adult. Every time it has chosen a single master._

_But the godesses know that, someday, an evil so powerful, one weilder of the Master Sword would be insufficient, would come. They had an idea of what to do in such a case, should the legendary Four Sword, which has the power to split its weilder into two, three, or even four selves, be inacessible. They just did not know what would happen when their plan was finally forced to be used..._

It was a beautiful morning, and the sun was shining bright over the small village of Kochyrae, allowing its quaint, simple buildings, quite few in number, to be seen by its equally simple inhabitants. The simple huts of wood from the beautiful forest surrounding the village watched as their inhabitants dawdled about within, went about working without, or, in one case, although he was a couple hours late, slept still.

Slowly, the young man opened his eyes, waking up as his house allowed a beam of light from the above window to creep up his body and finally shine on his face. The boy gasped and bolted out of bed, hurriedly getting his working clothes on. He was late for work! And nobody had come to wake him up, either. And that was odd, or perhaps not; the only one in the house who lived with him was his grandfather, from his mother's side, Bardin.

At last getting his boots on, the young man shot out of the house, who creaked under his feet to remind him of creeping in the night, sneaking about on someone else's property and making that heart-stopping, ominous creak, and therefore reminding him to lock his door. His house was the only one in Kochyrae that had to be locked, since a lot of things were stored there.

Shooting past a couple of houses, he soon reached his goal of his family's shop, Bardin's Bargins-cute name, isn't it? His grandfather always said that when admiring his faithful friend. But that's not really what he said today. It was more like, "LINK! YOU'RE LATE!" as soon as the man stepped inside, panting.

Link panted and murmered an appology, but his grandfather shook his head. Bardin was an old man, but not a frail one, by far. He wasn't extremely strong, either. He was strong enough to carry on with life and the hard life that comes with having to completely manage a shop: chopping wood to keep the fire going at night, towing large crates of goods from the house to the shop without a horse, and catching any smart-alec would-be theif who occasionally tries to rob him. He had a near-bald head, with a perfect dome of baldness that covered exactly half of his head, the other half being a ring of grey hair. He had on a pair of glasses, square-rimmed, a white shirt underneath a green smock, a pair of tan trousers, and light boots on his feet. He kept a quill behind his right ear, a pad of parchment in a pocket of his smock, and, usually, a kind, friendly look on his wrinkled, weathered face. But now, he was frowning at his grandson in disappointment and aggrivation. He put his hands to his hips. "Link, why, in the name of the godesses, did you sleep in so late?" he asked sternly. "You're better than this!"

Link tried to find an answer, but could not find a viable explaination for it.

Bardin sighed and shook his head, cradling his face on outstretched fingers. He looked back at Link. "I had to open up shop, clean the floor, and put up most of the goods on my own!" he scolded, motioning with his hands. "It's been taking twice as long to set up shop! Now, get to work!" he ordered, pointing at Link. "Get started with getting the rest of the goods from the house to here. You know where they're kept in the cellar, so don't take too long, or I'm not going to let you practice with your bow today!" he threatened. Link nodded and ran right out.

It was a normal day, basically. Well, not THAT normal...Link usually wakes up right when his grandfather does. He works at his grandfather's shop because there is no other job available in town. Link first helps set up the shop, cleaning, getting goods, and putting them up so they can be purchased by customers. These goods include a few weapons that the two occasionally complete, meaning things such as bows, arrows, shields, and slingshots for the kids-simple weapons without too much metal-food for the villagers, seed to grow crops when the season comes around and new plants are availible to be grown, and some good old fashioned red potion, for anyone in the village who wants to travel out deep into the woods the smart way. After setting up the shop, Link would then get to stay outside and greet customers, or chop wood for the fire, or even man the counter. But most of the time, he really isn't actually needed by his grandfather. This is counteracted, though, by the villagers asking him to help them with things like planting crops, getting rid of pests, babysitting while the folks go out for a bit, assisting at the ranch nearby in the sister village, Ybayba Enapu, or, his personal favorite, being a sparring partner with that same town's weapons expert, who taught his grandfather and himself how to make simple weapons.

Link had a very nice life. He didn't need to live in the big city, with all their fancy haggling, thieving, lying, crying, and indoor plumbing for rich baths. He was content to live life as the shopkeep's grandson, helping him and the rest of the village of Kochyrae with whatever they need his energy, amazing flexibility of tasks, or just his helpful nature for.

...

That same morning shone down onto a village on the opposite end of Hyrule, in the mountains to the north. Instead of houses, though, that the sun shone upon, caves with wooden doors, with wooden walls to fit the rest of the entrances of the caves, reflected the light and awakened the colors within them. You really could only see this village from the sun's eyes, as there's only a giant crack opening out from a ceiling of rock to the rest of the world that allows a good outside view of the village. It's not the only entrance, though; a great subterranean tunnel ran from it to the foot of the mountain. Convienently enough, only the inhabitants of the cave village, Jgk'hry, could have an easy time navigating the dark, treacherous passage.

Hyrule had many races within it: Hylians, of course, but also the gorons, the zoras, and the band of all-female theives, the gerudoes. Each-although the last is treated with great caution, and for good reason-respects each other, and wishes overall peace in Hyrule. The gerudoes may cause trouble with their thieving, but that's just about it. There are more races, of course, but most of them are races of savage, evil, or just plain easily-disgruntled creatures. And one of these other races resides within this village. A race of monsters notorious for their unique blend of animal abilities and skilled swordsmanship. The lizalfos.

Jgk'hry is a rarity amoung the lizalfos, however; usually, these creatures are wandering bands, hunters and gatherers. But, at some point long ago, some lizalfos were separated from the group, left for dead from injuries. The small group found a concealed place hidden with only an overhead chasm to immediately reveal its location. A small underground lake with many caves around it, the cavern held, also, strong, unique herbs with medicinal properties. The lizalfos, with nothing else to lose, decided to try and use these herbs to heal their great wounds. Over time, they healed, which, without the herbs' help to minimize infections, wouldn't have happened. The lizalfos also found a great supply of fish ran through the lake, and countless birds liked to roost on the mountainside nearby. They had food. They had water. And, with the rich ore found there, they had a means with which to create weapons and armor instead of risk their lives in stealing it. So, they settled. This was ages ago. And still, despite the fact few ever venture out on their own, many of the villagers are as inclined towards cruel acts as before, though not towards one another.

But with the calmness of settling comes boredom. And with boredom sometimes come learning, to keep that horrifying beast at bay. But, also, with boredom, may also come chores...

"...Samba?"

"..."

"...Samba."

"Zzz..."

"...Samba!"

"..."

_"SAMBA! WAKE UP, LAZY-SCALES!"_

"RRAAAHH!"

Samba, a young lizalfos with unique, blue scales, roared in surprise at the high voice squealing so loud right into his ears, and jerked in a way that he tumbled right out of his bed of lots of soft hay and onto the floor of lots of hard rock. He growled and sat up, holding his nose, which had slammed right into the floor.

"If you'd gotten up on time, this wouldn't've happened, y'know," his little sister said behind him. He turned his head to look at her. Dressed in nothing more but a simple white dress and a necklace with birds' feathers, she was standing with her paws on her hips. Her scales, unlike his, were teal, which was still not the usual green the others wore. Her face was absolutly adorable, since she was still so young, that she still had a respectfully nice-to-look-at face. The older lizalfos had faces that were very reptillian, but still flexible enough for expression, yet still not something you'd call cute or visually pleasing enough to prefer it over something more mundane normally. Most still had beady eyes, but as they gradually remained staying there, they began to become slightly larger and more full of life. Only Samba and his sisters' scales changed as well. Back to her, though, the sister in question had a stern look on her face. "I mean, really, big brother, you've got to get going with the fishing," she nagged him. "You should've been up earlier, too. You're going to be late for the boat if you don't quit feeling sorry for your nose being smashed into the floor by your fat self and get dressed for work."

Samba, who was as slim as most of the others in the the village(in fact, he was actually quite an athlete), squeaked comically at the mention of his boat potentially leaving without him and got up quickly, rushing to the section of his room where his clothing was. Throwing on a shirt and loincloth and grabbing his fishing rod, he raced out of the cave, slamming the door after him. Behind him, his little sister sighed and shook her head as she watched him go. "Lazy..."

Samba dashed along the shoreline by his home, passing the other large caves claimed as homes of other villagers. He ran along, clawed feet flying over the stone beneath him as he raced to the dock where the fishing boats were. He finally skidded sideways as he reached it, and then ran right across it to the boat, which was, indeed, leaving without him. He could make it, if he just kept running and jumped, despite there being a large gap that no hylian could hope to clear. With a grunt, he jumped off the edge over to the boat. The fishermen on the boat made sounds of surprise and alarm as the boat sunk a little and rocked as Samba landed and stumbled forward a slight bit from the momentum. His foot caught on a seat and he fell face first down to the floor of the boat. He growled as he sat up, grumbles and laughter, both at him, surrounding him for being so late he had to jump into the boat like that. He looked sorrilly up at the foreman, a burly lizard who held a fishing pole in each paw and a hook tied to the end of his tail, which he always trailed in the water. The foreman crossed his arms and glared at the young fisherman, unamused like some of the others on the boat.

Snorting in discontent, the large beast growled, "You're LATE, Samba." He leaned in so that his face was right up to Samba's, so much that each could see the emotion within the other's eyes, anxiety in Samba's and fury in the foreman's. "And you just HAVE to point it out by making such a ruckus, don't you?" he scolded loudly. Samba winced at the volume, but had expected something loud and had been ready for it. The foreman knocked him on the head as punishment. "You're going to be responsible for gutting the fish today," he added onto it. "Now get your pole ready and shut up."

For Samba, that last part was easier done than said.

**...**

Link put the last of the goods up on the shelf and mopped his brow in relief. He looked to Bardin for his next order.

Bardin nodded. "I can handle it from here, Link," he said, calmer than before. His voice was healthy, despite his age. He thumbed behind him. "You can go and do whatever the village wants you to do today. I'll call out if I need you."

Link nodded and went outside the shop, stretching. He wondered what he'd be doing today. He decided to take a stroll through the village until somebody needed help. Dorder, the farmer of the village, called to say hi from working on his roof, and, when Link asked, said he didn't need any help. Link nodded and continued on, saying hello to Mari, who was with her kids, playful and rambuctious Yan and clumsy and curious Cor, both young boys. Mari said she was fine with the kids for now, but would he be able to play with them later on? Maybe, Link replied, and went on.

He went to all the people out and about, but nobody needed any of his help. This was unusual, since Link was always needed for SOMEthing.

"OOOYY! LINK!"

See? Link turned to the voice and saw, eyes lighting up and a smile on his face, his friend, Betta, the weapons expert from the ranch village next over. Link ran over to the man. Betta had a good outfit of adventerers' clothes on, with a good tunic, a pair of sturdy trousers, strong boots, leather bracers, and a few scars on his face. His expression was kind, despite the great gashes on his cheek, across his forehead, and down his chin. He carried a pair of wooden swords with him today in addition to his sword on his belt. "A fine morning, Link!" he greeted, shaking his young friend's hand as he got over to him. He smiled, dark brown eyes twinkling. The wind blew his short black hair a bit. "Are you doing anything right as of now?" he asked, raising his other hand, which held the two wooden swords.

Link smiled and shook his head. He explained that he might be called, though.

Betta nodded. "I understand, your grandfather might need you at any time. But that just means we have to work as much as we can today!" He grinned and tossed Link his training weapon. "Come on, we'll work in our spot," he beckoned, and pointed to a patch of grass behind the shop. It was clear, except for a target of a hay-man standing in one corner, somewhat battered.

Link nodded and ran over, eager to get some more sword practice in. He was already an excellent swordsman, but he LOVED to practice, especially against a live opponent. He was especially excited today, since it had been a while since he'd seen his sparring partner. He and Betta went to their spots as usual. Betta pointed his sword, wooden for this training session, at Link. "Right, then, Link, let's do a refresher, since it's been a few weeks since we've sparred last," Betta announced. "We'll start with keeping your eyes on a target, using me for the target." Link nodded and trained his sharp eyes on the energetic man in front of him. Betta moved this way, then that, then did a few fake-outs, but Link kept his eyes on him at all times.

After a while, Betta stopped and said, "Good! I see you've kept your practice up for that." He turned to the hay-man target. "Now, focus on ol' Joe Glass there, and do some horizontal slashes." Link did so, and then vertical, then stabs, then a jump attack, and finally, to wrap up the warm-up, his favorite, the spin attack. With years of practice in it, Link spun a circle, left arm extended with sword in it and striking the target twice before the spin ended. When he was done, Link turned to Betta.

Betta smiled and nodded. He got into his own stance and said, "Now we'll see if your reflexes have been slowed in the downtime you've had being just a shopkeep's assistant!" shortly before starting to attack.

Link dodged with skillful moves, sidestepping, rolling, and even backflipping. He even went more advanced by parrying an attack-he struck away Betta's stab with his own blade before it met with him and struck him on the shoulder in the time he'd made with the move. Betta laughed, grinning. "Well, then, don't have to go over that, then!" he chuckled. "Okay, then, come at me!" And the sparring session began. Link knew the rules: If the teacher could strike the pupil three times, then that was it for the time. The pupil could get in as many hits as his teacher could take. It was a good ten minutes before Link, still admittiedly rusty from the time off practicing, got hit a third time.

Betta smiled and put his wood sword in his opposite hand, panting. "Very good, Link, you got quite a few hits on me today!" he congratulated, holding out his hand to shake. Link took it and shook, then held out his wooden sword. Betta smiled and shook his head. "No. I think you should keep that and use it a bit to practice some more," he reasoned. "Besides, you never know when someone wants their grass to be cut!" He laughed. The wooden sword, although made of mere wood, was somewhat sharpened and could cut tall grass and, if one wasn't careful, take out your eye.

All good things must come to an end, though, and Link heard his grandfather call. Betta smiled and waved him off. "I'll be staying in town for a while, so if you need me, I'll have a tent out in the Korken Woods," he called after.

Link nodded back as he ran to his grandfather.

**...**

Samba sighed as he stood up from rinsing his guts-covered paws in the lake. He had just gotten done with work for the day, and had gone through his punishment of gutting all the fish. He hated doing that, but as a hylian rhyme went, "You gotta jump through hoops to get your rupes." The village used the nationally-accepted currency of rupees, just in case someone went into outside society and needed to buy something, which usually was from a group of gorons the village has business deals with. The town produces the wonderful medicinal herbs that, they found out recently, can combine with blue potion to create a potion that not only restores your physical health, but keeps you going for some time more, magically healing new or old wounds for a time after consuming the potion, which is about a minute. Unfortuneatly, this makes it an ungodly expensive brew, at 180 rupees. Some smart adventurers would be brave enough to combine the herbs with some blue chu jelly, achieving the same effect for free.

Walking back home, Samba noticed a few villagers gathered around something, muttering about it. Drejsk, a lizalfos with...weight issues, we'll say, was one of them, so Samba didn't bother to see what was going down over there since he'd have to push the lardy lizard aside, which was quite a task; this guy had beaten his fair share of gorons in sumo wrestling.

Getting home, Samba noticed his little sister was not outside, though it was midday and she usually was outside doing a few chores: sweeping the entrance, weeding the herb garden, or hunting cave spiders, which got huge and frightening compared to the normal, surface-dwelling variety. They even have pincers! (shudders Stopping there...) Samba entered his house and saw his sister talking with their mother, who was the only one they stayed with, since their father had still not returned from being sent out on a sort of mission from the village elder...four years ago.

"...Vardi, so you've got to be careful from now on," their mother was saying. She looked up as Samba got in. Their mother wore a dress with a belt around her waist, which carried her dagger in its scabbard. "So, Samba, you got onto your boat alright, I take it?" she asked, raising an eyeridge. Samba chuckled nervously and put a paw on the back of his neck.

Vardi smirked. "Yeah, I told her how you leapt onto it," she said openly. "That's whatcha get for being la-zy!" she sing-songed to him, waggling a claw.

Samba groaned at her. Before he could retort, their mother said, "Samba, you'd better get to your training sometime today." Samba nodded and moved past to his room. His mother followed. "And keep an eye on Vardi today, alright?" she asked. "You and her will continue your lessons in Hylian today and tomorrow, too, so be ready."

Samba made sounds of affirmation as he went and opened the box that held his training stuff. He had a small, square buckler that he always wore strapped to his arm comfortibly, and a simple training sword that was made of just a peice of unsharpened, flat metal in the shape of a sword. Unlike the somewhat curved variety that most lizalfos used as starter weapons, his was a straight blade. He put on his scabbard and belt to go with and strapped on his buckler. He stepped out of his room.

His mother was talking to Vardi again. "I want you to keep an eye on your big brother, okay?" she asked her. Samba "RUHH?"'ed at this. Their mother smiled sweetly at him. "Oh, sorry, honey, didn't know you were standing there!" she lied, and the girls laughed. Samba sighed and shrugged. What're ya gonna do? "Now," their mother said, drawing attention to her again, "I'll be gone only for a few days. If anything happens, I want you two to handle it the best way you can." She walked to a pack on the floor and picked it up. "Wish me luck, okay?" she asked over her shoulder.

Vardi smiled and nodded. "Good luck!" she bade. Her brother did the same.

Their mother smiled and waved, opening the door. "Don't kill anything that doesn't deserve it!" she reminded them, and she was gone.

Samba always felt a little unsure whenever she said something like that. Being a lizalfos, he was somewhat evil. But, remarkably, their mother was as good as gold. Vardi was also very good, almost as much as their mother; she was getting there, though. Samba...he was like a golden nugget that still had a few blotches of dirt over it. Blotches that were sort of growing bigger and smaller in minute amounts every day. Someday more dirt got on, some days it was removed more.

"Big brother," Vardi said as Samba walked to go out and see what was going on over where the crowd was, if it still existed or not. Samba stopped and looked down at her. "I'm going to be here alone, okay? I want to get supper started," she told him. Samba nodded and said to be careful. "I'll be careful, don't worry!" Vardi said, and went away, freeing her brother.

Samba went to where the crowd was, and found it was still there. He now was ready to push aside Drejsk, and he managed to. He looked to where they were looking.

On the wall they were crowded around, a poster read, in their language, "All men are to report to the cheif in-" (here, a number of numbers were written, crossed out, written again, and crossed out again, counting down) "-five days for the breifing."

Samba gulped. "Yeah, I know," one of the men said. Samba turned to him. He was a slim guy, wearing nothing but a loincloth. "He's gonna finally get going on his scheme to get our little town respect from the other lizalfos by sending everyone out to find some big, bad, thing of some sort."

Drejsk grunted in agreement. "Uh-huh," he said, "and it's supposed to be something of part." He scritched his chest beneath his shirt, which he wore with trousers.

The guy next to him sighed. "That's 'part of something,' tangletounge," he corrected. This one was normal, with a simple short leather shirt on, a standard article of warrior apparal for a lizalfos. He had a loincloth as well. "It's supposed to combine with others like it to make some sort of special thing that would destroy the line of the heroes that always seems to come up and slay so many of us right when things start going our way," he explained. He turned to Samba. "You ready for it?" he asked.

Samba nodded.

Drejsk grinned, pounding a fist into his palm. "I'll hash the smeads-er, smash the heads, excuse me-of anyone who gets in my way, and I'm looking forward to it!" he rumbled.

The thin guy whined a bit. "I'm no fighter!" he complained. "I mean, seriously, how can they make us ALL do this?" he asked. He waved to Drejsk. "I mean, sure, some of us, though we may look unlikely to be good fighters, are really good, like sumo-boy here, but I'm just a scholar! A skinny little librarian who keeps what few books we have here and teaches a scant few here Hylian!" He waved his arms a bit while saying this, ending with motioning towards Samba.

Samba paled a bit at the being the subject like that.

The third guy sighed and shook his head. "Please, Ko, you're just whining again, stop. It's hurting my ears," he said flatly. He was very blunt in things.

Drejsk nodded. "I agree w'Thyu," he said. "It's haking my ears murt, too."

Ko and Thyu said, annoyedly, in unison, "'Making my ears hurt.'"

Drejsk clamped his mouth. "Curse my tounge!" he murmured.

Ko shrugged. "Hey, that's how your mind works, so leave it at that," he said gently. "But still, back on subject, I'm NOT going to go out and find that object! Not only would it be suicide for me, we're not SUPPOSED to get it!" He pulled a small book from a bag on his belt and opened it. It was written in Hylian. He put on his glasses, which he retrieved from his belt as well. "I think I know what the cheif wants, and here's the description: 'Three parts that rings the ring of pain/For all who need the light of day/Should it be used by not the chosen/Weilder of evil's bane alone.'" He looked up. "It's talking about the blade of evil's bane in that last part," he explained. "I mean, how else can one 'weild evil's bane'? So, whoever holds that sword is the only one who can use that object, which would bring catastrophe to all life, since we all, in a way, need daylight." He motioned all around, turning around as he did. "We need sunlight to grow our most valuable crop, lizafloren, and without it, we'll have no commerce! And no commerce, that means no order, no order means senseless killing, senseless killing leads to-" He looked up from the book and found only Samba remained. The other two were gone, talking to each other as they walked off. Ko brought his arms down limply. "-nobody left," he finished.

Samba patted his tutor's back as he closed his eyes in defeat. "Thanks, Samba," he said. He stood erect again. "Well, I'd better get going," he said. "I've got a lesson to prepare for you guys later on. Get your training done with so that we can get started." He walked away, putting his book and glasses away as he did.

Samba nodded and went to his own training area. He trained alone, but he went through similar excersizes as Link did a couple hours previous. He also used his tail, though, to which he rather didn't attach any weapons, since he felt so restricted with something tied on him apart from his sheild. He also used his powerful legs, whose kicks he considered lethal, especially with his slightly large feet. With those large feet, though, came greater stability and skidding ability, and so he could stop his momentum quite well. The boat incedent was different, since he'd never jumped into a boat from that far away before. Also, his feet allowed him to be able to swim at least slightly well. He can't swim long, though, or else he'll get tired and drown. So, he didn't dislike his large feet-he used them, especially if someone makes fun of them. He had a fantastic jumping kick that he could land right in your face rather painfully.

Samba, on the topic of jumping, also practiced his jumps. He only jumped when needed, such as getting up ledges and clearing gaps. He, being a lizalfos, could jump higher than a hylian could-twice as high, actually. Therefore, he can also jump farther. Finally, he can also stand falls from greater distances. And coming down, he can land a number of kicks, if he puts his mind to it.

Finally, after a while of practice, which he didn't really need that much since he was very good already, Samba went back home and sat down to, groaningly, learn Hylian some more.

Things were going on until Vardi asked, in Hylian like they always did when having a lesson, "Why does the cheif want all the men to go out of the village?"

Ko sighed. "To find something dangerous, like the jerk he is," he replied in an undertone.

Vardi tilted her head. "What, does he want to blow something up with big bombs or something?" she asked.

Ko shook his head. "Bigger range. Think worldwide. At least Hyrule-wide," he answered, holding his arms out as if telling he caught a fish and it was THIIIIIS BIG, I swear! "As far as I can tell, it's something that the infamous lineage of heroes can only use. It's split in three parts." He opened his book and motioned for his students to lean in closer. He flipped to a map of Hyrule. Three spots were marked with a dot on the map. He pointed to one in their mountain range. In a whisper, he said, "There's actually one piece that's nearby." He flipped to another page and read, skimming down the page with his claw, "'Of the three scattered through the land/They can all be found buried within/A piece of land of unique type/One in rock, one in wood, one in land.'" He flipped back to the map. A black 'X' was through one of the spots and a circle was around the spot they all knew Hyrule Castle lay. "I've listened well to my sources, and they've all said that a part of something strange was recently placed under the care of the Royal Family," he continued. He moved his claw to the forested area a mark was in. "This is, as the text suggests later on, the place known as the Forest of Peril. It's supposedly a forest that almost has a mind of its own and acts as a sort of building, almost. They say it has vines that untangle and retangle like doors if you press in thier center. It's nearby the small village of Kochyrae." He indicated the spot nearest them again. "And here's where the part is supposed to be nearby us. It's in the most dangerous area we know of around here. You know what it is?" he asked, raising his head.

Vardi gasped. "The Empty Cavern!" she answered.

Ko nodded. "Correct, as far as I know," he responded. "We all know that trecherous place, the place where many have entered and none have escaped alive after exploring the entire cave system. It's said to be full of treasures, including one interesting one that is said to enable the user to surround thrown stones with fire. Although, the fire, people say, won't set things on fire, but merely hurts a lot more when the target is struck, so, unless Samba here gets it, it's pretty useless, if you ask me," the scholar mused aloud. (Samba was notorious for being able to throw small stones an incredible distance and with equally incredible accuracy.)

Vardi chuckled. "Yeah, give Samba some pebbles, and he's as dangerous as any archer," she complimented, looking at her big brother.

Samba blushed and put his hand on the back of his neck.

Ko sighed. "Now," he continued, looking at the two seriously, "don't tell ANYONE about this. I know exactly where the cheif wants to go, but it's more evil than I can stand." Ko was about as good as Samba's mother, and shared many of her opinions. "I don't like the fact we all have to go in a couple days, but that's the way things go."

Samba looked away, to the door. Vardi noticed. "You're nervous, aren't you, big brother?" she asked, tilting her head. Samba nodded. "Don't worry, you can do better than every single one of the guys here combined!"

"Vardi, please," Ko laughed, "that's going a little overboard, isn't it? Nobody here can take on the entire village's men simultaneously. I doubt even the cheif, dinofos or not, can." He sighed and rested his head on his paw, nestling his cheek into his palm. "All this talk of fighting...Why can't we just go for the best path we've got, peace with the rest of Hyrule?" he asked forlornly.

Vardi shook her head. "We're monsters, that's why," she answered. Samba clenched a fist beside her. Vardi looked down. "We, in this village, may be more good than the others, but we're so few. I mean, sure, there's the Gorons and the Zoras living in their cities, but we...we barely have enough good people to call ourselves a group. There's me, and you, Ko, and mother, and Samba..." She looked at him at this, remembering how mixed his feelings were. He was looking away, clenching his fist tightly, it shaking slightly. Vardi quietly muttered, "Oh...well...er..." She just couldn't find the words.

"Well, let's get off this touchy subject, shall we?" Ko asked brightly, getting the attention of his pupils again. "Good. Now, back on the newest vocabulary we have..."


	2. The Forest of Peril

Link closed up the shop behind Bardin, then turned and scampered over to catch up. "Let's get going home, eh, Link?" he asked him, smiling. "We had a good day. Thanks for helping me when you had a sparring match going, but I needed the help. A few more customers than I'm able to handle at once, you know?" He chuckled and went on inside the house after unlocking it. "Again, nice sword he gave you," he complimented over his shoulder. "Go ahead and change out into your night clothes, Link. Come in when you're tired, but don't stay out long. I'll probably be awake tallying up our income today." He disappeared into the house.

Link took off his smock and went outside to admire the starry sky above him that night. He got up to the roof of the house by jumping across some ledges that were convienently nearby his house that led to his roof. He lay down and gazed at the beautiful array of stars. Out here in the country, where there weren't tons of lanterns burning and blotting out the stars, he could see stars as if they were a sandy beach with blackness slivered between each grain of white sand, stellar clouds of stars like water flowing amoung the grains in patches. He sighed and smiled.

Suddenly, a streak fired across the sky. A shooting star! Quickly, Link wished for something. He decided on someday meeting a friendly creature, like a goron or a zora, and making friends with something extraordinary by bumpkin standards. He then returned to gazing until he became sleepy and retired to bed.

The next morning, he got up on time and was able to get the shop ready with his grandfather before people were even ready to go out shopping. He then went out and did a few jobs for people. One of them was taking care of a pesky bird that was divebombing people. Link tried to procure a ranged weapon from his grandfather, but Bardin said they were too valuable to let go for even a moment, since you never knew when someone wanted a bow or a slingshot. The only option Link had left was to, in a burst of inspiration, first trick the bird into slamming into a wall, then whack it with his sword.

However, he was just one step behind the fowl. Despite luring the bird to dive at him when he was nearby a wall and jumping aside at the last second, the bird, smart as it was, saw through the ruse and veered sharply at the last moment, slamming into poor Link and knocking him down painfully. After a few moments' thought, Link decided to try and trick the bird another way. He went home and retrieved his favorite wooden sheild he made all on his own one day. He grabbed it and put it on his back via a strap to hold it. Then, he finally confronted the bird one last time.

He waited until the last possible moment, and instead of jumping, he pulled out his sheild right before the bird slammed into him. The bird made a comic "SKWWWAAAACK!" as it realized it couldn't veer away in time. WHAM! It slammed into the sheild, and, stunned, fell to the ground. Link then drew his wooden sword and gave it a good, solid smack. Finally, the bird, hit by something quite painful to add to its headache, gave in and took off to a new place to have fun raising heck.

Deciding that his sheild's services may be needed elsewhere, Link decided to, as well, keep the object with him. His grandfather, after he told the story, said that he deserved it. You see, the bird was very nearby the shop, and was scaring customers away. It was then another day of normalcy, at least until, around lunchtime, the new shipment of items came in. After putting them up, Bardin confronted his grandson.

"Link?" he asked. Link turned after grabbing the last bag of the new products. "Keep those." Link let out an exhausted sigh. He knew that if his grandfather let him keep something from the shop, then he was going to have to do something with them. Bardin smirked. "Don't worry, it's not too bad this time," he assured him.

'Yeah, right,' Link thought. But, as always, he kept it to himself.

Bardin smiled. "I think you'd better show people that new item we've got, since it could really help them out when you're not around," he suggested. "They're called Deku Nuts. Although they're found in the forest all over the place, you can't really get them without risking yourself a bit, from all the things that have been flying around there lately," he explained. "If you chuck one and it smashes against a solid surface, it'll emit a bright flash. It's sure to stun anyone or anything around for at least a moment while they try and see properly again." Bardin brought his fist up with a smirk. "And, while they're sittin' ducks, WHAM!" He swung the fist in a hook. "People can just whack 'em off their property or away from them! However, if you aren't careful, you'll be stunned, too." He mimed the movement. He drew back his arm and, with his other arm, sheilded his eyes. He then mimed throwing an object down and in front of him. "You have to keep your eyes shut. It won't work on things that don't have eyes, but fortunately, even Keese have eyes, though they rely mainly on sound, as far as we can tell," he explained.

Link nodded and looked at his new item, then put the bag in a pocket in his smock. He promised to go and show people how to use them.

Bardin smiled. "Ahhhh! Good boy, Link, good boy!" He patted his shoulder. "Now, I've got a sign up telling about how there'll be a demonstration soon. Just go out in the road by the sign and wait a bit. I'll wave when it's time to start."

Link nodded and went out to wait.

A few minutes later, he was surrounded by a small ring of people. A brave, willing member of the audience-Betta, of course, since he was the only one in town who really could stand being a punching bag-was ready to be the target. But people didn't know at first what to do, so Link, smart boy, didn't do anything before people could see again after launching his first one. What happened was the nut sailed down and burst on the ground with a loud SNAP! and an accompanying flash, and everyone just stood there, trying to see again. After a few moments, people, complaining loudly, could see again. Their interest was piqued, though, since, well, how could you use such an object? Then, he got one out slowly, so that everyone could cover their eyes in time. He tossed it, and after the snap, people opened their eyes to see a very still-standing Betta. Link quickly stepped forth and began whailing on the poor guy. Betta soon blocked some blows after recovering. Then, a sparring match began, and Link, after a few moments, reached into his bag and thereby alerted others to sheild their eyes. SNAP! Open your eyes, now! Betta, look, he's totally frozen from the flash! (His eyes probably hurt, by now, too.) And Link, look, he's getting in some good hits while he can! Hey, we can use this to stun those pesky crows and kick them away from our crops when we see them!

The demonstration worked. People were interested. Link only used up five of his twenty nuts, and Bardin said he could keep them. Bardin said they were in packs of twenty each for 30 rupees per pack. Seeing as the math came out to about 1.25 rupees per nut, the masses rushed to get some. Link had his hands full selling them with his grandfather. Finally, after some time, a few hours, actually, of working at the shop and helping some people out with how to use their new tool, Link finally was allowed to rest. For once, he accepted the break to rest. His rest came right when work was just about over. His energy was all back right when night fell.

He helped close, then walked back home with Bardin. Bardin smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Link," he said, smiling broadly, "you've done a fantastic job today. I think you should have something when we get home. It's simple, and it may seem worthless, but if you use your imagination, you'll never leave home without it." They got home, and before Link took his smock off, a knock on his door came, and, upon answering it, he found an empty bottle presented to him.

Confused, the young assitant looked questioningly at his grandfather. Bardin smiled. "Go on, take it!" he said. Link, not knowing that he was taking something that is worth more than its price tag would ever say, whether it was sold there or at the capital of Hyrule, took the cork-bearing glass container and put it in his smock's pocket. "As I said, it may seem worthless," Bardi restated, smiling and holding a finger up, "but, if you use your imagination, you'll never leave home without it." He winked at him and went to his room for bed. "I advise you get some rest, Link, since we've got quite a day tomorrow...You never know what'll happen inside a shop," he advised over his shoulder. "Good night!"

Link bade the same, but went out to admire the stars before taking his smock off to go to bed. Up on the roof, he removed his sword and sheild briefly so he could gaze at the heavens.

The stars twinkled. Their light, with the beautiful light of the moon, shone down and illuminated the land in an eerie, yet beautiful, aura. Link looked down and around the village, the peaceful village, the li-on sleeps to-night, when suddenly, his eyes snapped right onto the shop. He saw a figure there, trying to sneak in through a window. Gathering up his stuff again, Link jumped off the roof and rolled on the ground to absorb the impact of his fall. He ran to the theif and drew a deku nut. He shouted to get the guy's attention, then tossed the nut. SNAP! The flash faded, and Link looked up again. Amazingly, the guy was moving! He couldn't see his features, since he was wrapped in cloths. He DID get to see a bag over his shoulder, though. THE TILL! All the cash they'd made that day was in that sack! Link smacked his forehead, wondering how stupid his grandfather was getting with time. He would've stationed Link if he had his wits, Link knew. Alarmed and annoyed, he took off after the theif.

He followed him through to the forest. Problem was, the forest's trees were so thick, the moonlight was blocked off. He could barely see a thing! But, by snapping off deku nuts and looking up right as the light faded, he could get a glimpse of where he was. Of course, he'd lost the theif after a few minutes. Problem is, the theif wasn't the only person he'd lost; he lost himself in the woods! And he wanted to conserve his nuts for when they were needed the most. So, he remembered that Betta was camped out here, and he wondered if there was a fire outside the tent. It wasn't too late for him, was it? Quickly, Link ran and fumbled his way along. Finally, he caught sight of a fire ahead.

It wasn't a campfire, though.

Before him stood two mysteriously lit braziers, and between them, an entrance to someplace he had a feeling he knew what it was. The Forest of Peril. Stepping forward slowly, Link found that this was really his best bet to get a fire to see by. Reluctantly, he reached out with his wooden sword to make a makeshift torch. But, before he reached the brazier, he heard the distinctive ring of rupee on hard ground. He stopped and looked in the entrance. Someone swore, and Link knew he'd found his man. But...in there? Link was unsure. This late at night, lost, and without anything to protect-He suddenly realized that he could do this. He had a weapon that he was going to waste by turning it into a torch. And he had a scary, dark, dangerous, and frikkin' cool forest ahead of him he could explore as he searched for the theif. Not only did this excite him somewhat, he also knew that he HAD to get that money back, or else his grandfather would have a heart attack! So, resolutely, Link strode into the Forest of Peril.

And vines crept up behind him and blocked his way out.

_._

Link found himself in a room, eventually, after the pathway led him in. There were torches lit, for some odd reason, and there was a door in front of him that he could see just fine. A door that was made of vines laced together. He knew, though, from the stories that these vines were like doors. So, he went forth and tried to open it, but some annoying keese came down to harangue him. Soundly, he defeated them, but before he could advance, he saw a bright light from somewhere. He turned and gasped when a chest materialized in front of him. He blinked a moment after it solidified, then tapped it with his sword. Solid. He sheathed his weapon and shield and tried to open the chest. To his surprise, it was unlocked, and also, all that resided within it was a single, metal key. 'This isn't anything like what I've heard about this place,' he wondered, taking the key(cuz he knew that keys could be useful, if you knew where to use them). 'Appearing chests? Torches without anyone to man them? I know about these doors...' He pressed on the vines, and they unraveled before him. He ran forth and on to the other side, and the vines closed behind him as soon as he did. He turned and opened them again to check, and saw they did. After a moment, they shut. He nodded and turned, then gasped. '...but a huge place like THIS?'

This room was huge. Greenish water was below, with lilly pads around, and some growths provided places to climb up. In fact, all around him were branches, vines, growths, ALL of it parts of trees! And above him, there was a ceiling of densely-grown wood. Torches illuminated this place, too. Astounded, Link fell right on his ass. 'This...This isn't a forest,' he realized. 'This is...This is NOT natural! It's a building of sorts!' He looked and saw three 'doors' around. One on either side of him and one in front, all connected by a crossroads of entangled wood. The door to his right had chains across it with a lock in the center, as well as thick vines stretching from ceiling to floor that formed a wall between him and the door in front in a semi-circle. The door to his left just had a lock on it with similar chains. Where they came from, Link decided not to wonder. But he though he had an idea after spying someone in front of him. The theif! He rushed to him, but was too slow. The theif disappeared behind a HUGE door of vines in front of Link, which then closed, and chains shot across it with a HUGE lock on it. Link skidded and swore. 'The key I got is way too small for that thing!' he asserted, and turned to the only availible option. The singly-locked door. 'If there's a lock, there's a key,' he knew, and went and tried unlocking that door. The key stuck fast after unlocking it, but the door was unlocked. Hoping to find another door, Link went into the next room.

'My goal here is to find the key big enough to get to him,' he thought. 'It's got to be in his little hideout here, HAS to be...' He looked around the room. It was smaller, and had the same water below. He saw things swimming in it and decided against falling off. (He also recalled there being about five of those things before in the room he'd just left.) There were only two small places where he could fall off. He looked up and saw that there were some monsters-moblins, he assumed from stories his grandfather told-in front of him. There was also, for some reason, a huge block of wood in the center of the room. A door directly across from him was barred by thorny vines that wrapped it tight. The things spotted him, and Link raised his sheild for a fight. 'And look, minions...' He blocked a hit and struck in counterattack. 'Looks like that big day's starting early, grandfather...'

There were three of the piglike enemies. They attacked with spears and one threw javelins at him. Link grunted in pain as a javelin struck his leg. They were very small for javelins, though, and they didn't do that much. Link easily pulled it out without too much pain, but he was NOT happy. He was too busy with the ones weilding spears in front of him to raise his shield up to block. After the moblin missed him once and hit him another time, Link said, "That's it!" and launched a deku nut. Instantly, every moblin was practically frozen, stunned by the attack. Link took this chance to run over and attack the javelin moblin. He was able to easily defeat it with two full combos. He turned and faced the melee moblins with a much more relieved feeling. He was able to defeat them quite easily, too, with two full combos, as well. When everyone was defeated, he sheathed his sword(which, oddly, was not bloody at all, although he was able to cut them a bit).

He was still stuck, however, since the thorny vines hadn't disappeared from the door. He looked around to see if there was anything he could do and saw the block from before. He tilted his head curiously. 'Why is there one of these here?' he asked himself. 'I wonder if it's supposed to be so incongruous...' He experimentially pushed against it. It was a bit heavier than he thought, so he put his weight against it and pushed it forwards. After it had traveled the length of itself, it stopped abruptly as a THUNK was heard. Link looked to the left of him, to the door, and saw the thorny vines creep back into the wall. He raised his eyebrow at this, but was glad to find a way out of the room.

The next room was a bit larger, and had a small corner to his right and two more corners ahead of him (well, sort of corners, since the wall opposite him forming the edges of the dungeon were freeform instead of straight) that were filled with water. Only the ones in front of him had any vines leading back up. 'How would I get back up if I fell in the one to the right of me?' he wondered. He didn't have much more time to take in the room, as he found the room infested with about eight keese. He yelped and held up his shield to block one. It bounced away on the ground, as if in a temper tantrum, making the shopkeep's grandson blink for a moment. Link found his spin attack very useful, as well as his deku nuts.

After all had been defeated, he noticed that the door to his right, next to the pit with no way back up, unbarred. (It had been barred by the same thorny vines as before.) He was about to go over when, suddenly, a large chest across from the entrance materialized. As he looked at it, he noticed that, on branches from the close-grown wall of trees that hung out above the two larger pits at the far ends of the room, there were crystal globes, of all things. 'What on...?' he wondered before shrugging and going to the chest.

As he opened it, a flash of light came out. It was bright, but Link didn't mind it. He opened it just a crack at first, peering in before pushing the lid the rest of the way out. He smiled in excitement, wondering what was inside. He leaned down inside the chest to get whatever it was before coming up and turning around, holding out the item in front of him. 'It's a map,' he observed. 'Now, maybe I can get my bearings and find out how big this place is.' He opened up the map and found that, indeed, it was of the place, since there was a title atop it in plain Hylian, reading, "Forest of Peril."

It seemed that there were two floors to the forest, 1F and 2F. 2F only had two rooms, one of which was part of a room on 1F since they appeared to layer on each other. In fact, each floor on the map had a separate sheet of parchment. The sheets of parchment were on top of each other, kept together by what seemed to be animal glue. He found that the main part of the dungeon was shaped like some sort of squared "C" with the ends facing up, where he assumed north was. He found a large, circular chamber in the center of the hole of the "C" full of nothing but a circle and five strangely-shaped islands around it in the center, leaving lots of empty space around it in the room. He also noticed some blue and blue-green parts that signified water and water that traveled underneath the green platforms. Black signified part of a room below, which helped him gather that one room of 2F was part of a room on 1F. He saw that there were two rooms in this branch of the "C", a long one with a few cracks of water and a large, circular one almost as big as the main room. 'I'll have to explore this place until I find a key that is definitely big enough to get to the chamber the thief went into,' Link groaned as he put the map away in his smock.

He turned to the opened door and entered it. He found himself on a small neck of the wineskinesque "island" of short, floor-vine-topped trees that started the southern(?) end of the room. Ahead of him lay an island that was more amorphously shaped, and on a little half-circle island at the far end of the room was a door that was, for once, clear. He saw another semicircular island to his right, in the middle between the two main islands. Above it hung a large, rectangular platform of wood slats. The platform was tied up with a pyramid of vines connecting from the corners to a thick, main vine above the center. The main vine went up to the ceiling. He also noticed to his left a bit was a square of wood planks, about the size of one of the block he had pushed before. Another square was ahead and to the left of it. The little "river" dividing the main platforms was about as wide as a block. Another crystal globe, in reach this time, was next to the door on the other side.

Before he could try and figure out a way to solve the apparant puzzle or reach the door, though, he saw that he had about four keese and two moblins, one on each main island, to deal with. He did, eventually. He could jump across the gap to the other island and grab the edge of the vines to catch himself, so he had no trouble. He pulled himself up chin-up style as was his preference. After all the enemies in the room had been defeated, he heard a sound and looked up to see a large chest appear on the hanging platform. 'Well, great, how do I lower it?' he wondered. He looked to the crystal globe.

He tried pushing it, but it wouldn't budge. Seeing as he had nothing else to do to it, he whacked it. A bright blue light lit up inside of it and he heard a THUNK behind him. He turned and saw that a block had appeared where the first square of slats he had noticed was. He noticed the other square and wondered if he should push it there. 'Since it didn't lower the platform, what have I to lose?' He hopped over and pushed the block.

He pushed it towards the east(?) one length, aligning it with the other plank patch, and pushed it about three more lengths away. Nothing happened when he put it on the other patch. In a groan of exasperation, he fell against the side of the block. This pushed it off the edge, where it fell straight down to the river below. With a great SPLASH!, he found he had made a platform. This was lucky, since he stumbled forwards and after the block when he had pushed it off. He found himself looking at a door to a room not marked on his map. The door was absolutely normal, too-not made of vines. Curious, he entered.

He discovered a red-carpeted study, still lit by candles somehow. It seemed a bit dusty, however, and unused for quite some time. In it, parchment sheets of all sorts were around, and one huge sheet was spread out on a desk. Nothing but a border was on it, and a vauge shape Link knew to be the shape of the land of Hyrule. An unfinished map that he could fill in on his own with one of his many skills he picked up from helping many people with many things, as well as being around cool stuff, for all his life. (Or he could just attach the maps of the areas he already had a map for to this one, like the map of his hometown.) He took it, just in case it came in use later. And besides, maybe someone would want it if he didn't need it later on, and he could put it in the shop.

He found nothing else in the room except an exit leading off under a skinnyish part of the second island, which the study was inside, it appeared. The door opened out and he fell into a pool of water. Grumbling and unable to reach the door again, he swam to a bunch of thinner vines that he could climb up and did so. He found that the room was the way he had left it-free of enemies. Having nothing else to do, he checked to see if everything was fine-which it was, since his smock was actually made of waterproofed material and had buttonable pockets to keep everything in-before entering the door.

The dead end he found was one that consisted of both a circular room and the door he entered through letting the thick, thorny vines shoot over it, barring him in. And, to make matters worse, a rank-smelling, sharp-toothed, and well-armed axe-weilding giant of a moblin was in that room. Link saw behind it was a mini-room with a big chest in it, fenced off with vines as thick as his leg covered with fist-sized thorns and bearing a door in the center with a padlock over it. And, lo and behold, on the beast was a key, around its belt. Link nodded, knowing that he could only escape by defeating this thing.

He advanced forward, and barely evaded a charge. He tried blocking an axe swing, but it caused him to lose his balance. In the time it took to regain it, he was charged right to the ground. But, as he got up, he saw the great moblin crash into the wall. It fell on its butt, dazed a moment. Sorry he had to trick this thing to defeat it, Link went and took his potshots, the only way he could win without dying. He actually got some slashes in on the thing, despite his sword being made of wood. The moblin got up, though, and swung his axe in a circle to blow Link away. Although in pain, Link was confident he could pull through this fight now. He just had to run right when he was done with a full combination attack(he'd been stupid and tried slashing a bit more after it, and that's how he got hurt), and sidestep the charge. He kept his distance, trying to lure the stupid beast into charging.

It worked, and unlike the bird earlier that day, this thing wasn't smart enough to veer away at the last second. WHAM! Head-first slam into the wall. Link slashed and stabbed in a combination, then ran away. He dived and rolled to dodge the axe, then got up again and ran away, baiting the thing once more. A third and final time, it crashed, and Link gave one last combo. The last hit, he jumped and drove his sword right through the thing's chest. Revulsed at the gore on his blade as he was, Link pulled his sword out and leapt back. With a mighty roar, the moblin swayed, swinging aimlessly, before finally falling down for good. With a large puff of smoke, it burst out of existence like every monster Link defeated in the forest. He had a feeling it was to pay back for them being evil. On the ground, it left behind its key. With it, Link unlocked the door to the chest.

He opened it, and upon looking in, he saw a different thing. He reached in and took it out. He turned and held it up, looking at his prize. It was something he'd only seen used by Betta, and that was once. Ever since, he'd wanted one. It was a boomerang. But it felt...different. Strong. Magical. He walked out and looked at the tufts of grass that grew all over that had stuff always hidden inside. He held the item and tried to remember how it was thrown. He tried it, and it sailed away, then began to curve around back to him. It curved and went right back, and Link caught it expertly. With a cry of joy, Link spent some time having fun with it some more. He threw it and cut some of the grass. He threw it and caught it again. Then, he wondered what'd happen if he threw it and then moved. He did, and began moving away as it returned. He gasped as it homed in on him. Amazed, he looked at it. Plain wood, it seemed, with a gem set at the origin of the angle. Each side of the 'rang had a green stripe painted on it. Link tried throwing it at a wall, and it bounced right back to him. It was MAGIC! He remembered that Betta had to stand still, and when he accidentally hit something with it, the boomerang fell down.

Wondering what else it could do, Link looked around. He saw a few crystal globes he recognized as the switches he could hit with his sword to activate things like opening the doors. He saw a few above the entrance to the room. He looked at each one in turn, then threw the boomerang. As if responding to his thoughts, it went for the first one immediately and smacked into the ones he'd picked in the order he picked it in. As it hit each one, yellow light shone from them. At the last one, it returned to him, and the thick vines blocking the entrance went right back into the forest. As well, the switches all became green. Grinning, Link put the boomerang away and went right on back, knowing that this new tool could allow him to find the key he needed. Washing off the blade of his wooden sword in the short little cracks of water beside the door, he continued. (It appeared that larger enemies needed to have the blood washed off.)

The enemies had returned, and he had to fight them off again. He found that the boomerang could "target" up to five things, and while it defeated keese with one blow, larger enemies like moblins were only stunned. He watched as the chest returned. The vines gave him an idea. So, he "locked onto" the four corner vines and let fly.

To his dismay, as soon as one vine had been cut, the platform tilted down in the direction of the cut vine and the chest slid right off! It flew into the water, where, strangely, it vanished with a flash. Link blinked for a moment at this, then had an idea. Hoping it would work, he exited the room through the door he'd just come out and reentered it. Everything had been reset! 'It has to be magic,' he thought. So, after defeating everyone again, he decided to, this time, target the main vine only. It cut a little bit, but he didn't cut it. So, he targeted it multiple times, hoping it would work. It did! The boomerang flew around it, going back and forth as it hacked away at the vine. Then, on its fourth pass, the vine snapped and the whole platform fell straight down. The boomerang, now target-less, flew back to its owner's southpaw.

Link jumped over to the chest and opened it to find...a compass? He raised an eyebrow at it. 'What's a compass doing here?' he thought. Suddenly, it and something from his smock began to glow. He brought out the dungeon map and watched as not only a compass appeared on the map (North being, as he had thought, the top of the map) but square markings signifying chests appeared in spots around the dungeon, as well. A big skull appeared in the center of the big, circular room behind the large door. Not just that, he now saw, magically, a red arrow pointing from the door he had just left and a yellow arrow right above where he was on the map pointing in the direction he faced at the moment.

He smiled broadly. "This is really cool!" he couldn't help but comment. "Now I can loot this place to add some money to my grandfather's till once I get it...or..." He sniggered as he put the compass away with his map. "...my own wallet..." He blinked and frowned, though, recalling that his child's wallet could hold only 100 rupees. 'I need to convince grandfather to get me an adult wallet,' he thought.

He continued back to the room he obtained his map and found the keese had returned. He took five out with his boomerang and spin attacked the other four, catching his boomerang right after sheathing his sword. He smirked. 'Not bad.' He looked around at the two switches and glanced at his map. 'There's another chest in the southern corner of the room,' he noticed. 'I bet if I hit those switches...' He threw his boomerang at each of them, deciding to go one at a time. They glowed blue as it hit them. When both were alight, a small chest like the one he had seen at the entrance appeared. He kicked it open and found another small key.

'Great! Now I can open that one door once I take down the vines around it,' he thought. He found nothing but the moblins again in the next room, so he decided to just ignore them and continue through. He didn't even mind the door he entered through barring itself again, since he was finished with that part of the dungeon.

Back in the main room, he noticed that there was a chest directly in the center of the thick plus sign that the vines formed for a platform. The platform was mostly teal, but a circle of green lay beneath the intersection. However, Link looked over the edge and found that it was only the thick vine bridges below. He DID see another, circular platform beneath the vines, though. It was a gigantic tree stump surrounded by the water. He saw that there were more of those things in the water. They were like small sharks, fins hanging out of the water. Sadly, Link got to see them up close.

"Woa-oAh-WOOAAHAUGH!" SPLASH! Link surfaced, grimacing that he was soaked, but the grimace became a yelp of fear as the sharks came at him. They were more like big, reddish, sharkfinned pirrahnas, actually, and they took a bite out of him before he got to the safety of the stump. He stood in the center of it, panting as the fish swam away. They dispersed around the little moat, and he found that there were vines at the southern bridge he could climb again. However, finding there were five of them and they were really only about as large as keese, he had an idea. "I hope you work in water," he said to his new friend as he stood in place and turned around, looking at the enemies in turn, targeting them. Some were underwater entirely, some had a fin up. He then let fly.

The boomerang appeared to be not just aerodynamic, but hyrdrodynamic, too! In fact, as soon as it hit the water, it changed shape with a flash from its gem. The gem had been green before, but now it was blue. The arms of the boomerang turned from wood to some strange, olive brown material with a soft light green, finlike webbing forming the "cutting" edge (the tapered end of the "wing" that makes a side of a boomerang; he returning ones we're most familiar with are basically two airplane wings together!) of the boomerang. It cut through the water, smacking each of the enemies in turn and, as Link had hoped, defeating them. As he caught the boomerang, he looked at its new shape. "Woah," he said. "It can travel through air AND through water?" He started after the gem turned green once more and the boomerang became wooden again. He was about to put it away when he heard a sound.

"Huh? Isn't that a chest?" he muttered. Then he yelped as he felt himself slowly rise up. The chest was materializing right underneath him, and he was being pushed up by it! When it finished materializing, Link found himself standing on top of a large chest. "That was different," he chuckled before he hopped down to open it.

Inside, he found, to his confusion, something that looked like a large, clear, crystal heart. However, inside of it was a small, red heart. He raised an eyebrow. "What the heck is THIS?" he wondered aloud. He wondered if he should absorb it like a normal heart (things that Betta had mentioned once he found in patches of small grass or clay pots he sometimes cut and broke after discovering that they sometimes contained rupees) to restore his energy, so he tried. It shattered apart and absorbed into his body, just like a normal heart. It filled his energy up to full, though, instead of a small bit. He smiled at this. "Well, I suppose that's a good reward," he said before jumping back into the water and leisurely swimming over to the vines and climbing back up.

He found that, on the eastern wall, five globe switches were ready for him to hit with his boomerang. So, taking his time, he hit them individually. They glowed yellow when he hit them. However, when he looked back at the first after hitting the last, he saw that it had gone out! In turn, the others went out, as well. He groaned. "Oh, I see," he muttered. He then targeted the five and let fly. The boomerang bounced off of each one and, when the last was hit after a much shorter time than before, they all turned green. The vines that had stretched all the way down to even below the vine bridges and blocked the way to the locked door receeded, and Link was happy to go and find that large key he needed.

After he opened that door, though, he found that not only did it seal shut behind him with thorny vines, but the one opposite from him was, too. He was trapped! The room he was in must have had a puzzle, though. He looked and saw that there were six pits with water in them, a teal zig-zag going between them signifying that they were connected. As well, there was a teal line that went out the door behind him. He had never seen any hole there when he was down there because of the vines covering it, so he felt it made sense. 'Though, with so much water and lower areas, how can this all be on the first floor?' he couldn't help but wonder. He shrugged. 'Oh, well, it makes things a bit easier sometimes, I guess, with the teal on the map...'

The pits were triangular and three poked from each side. It looked like he was in the mouth of some beast. On the zig-zagging path that they created were switches, one at each end and one at each angle, all of them near the walls. A wall of those vines were blocking the way through and the edges of the pits around, giving him a "W" of a path. This gave him five switches, which, after hitting one and recognizing the yellow light, he identified as boomerang switches. He went to the blocking vines and targeted the switches. After the last one was hit, the five turned green and the vines went up.

The doors were still locked, though.

"What?" Link saw that the other switches were green, as well, and they did nothing when he hit them with a sword attack or a boomerang smack. He looked at his map. "Great," he muttered. "I'm going to have to get wet again..."

He jumped into the nearest pit and swam across the enemy-free waters under the tunnel. He entered the next room and found himself coming into the open again inside a room with two javelin-throwing moblins. He swam to the nearest vines and started to climb, but the attacks knocked him off. Narrowing his gaze, he brought up his boomerang and knocked the two silly. They were both on a side of the room, standing on an edge while they sniped him. He would have been in range if he went up the vines by his entrance or the ones a bit across. As soon as he had hit them, the moblins lost their balance and fell into the water, where they were instantly defeated. Link blinked. "Guess they can't swim," he muttered before he climbed up the western vines. He decided to collect the items they left behind with his boomerang, since it also carried back items like rupees and hearts. He got them in time before they were lost too far in the water and looked around the room.

It was vaugely rectangular and was mostly water. The water spread across from one end of the room to the other, stopped only by the thickest parts of vine platform "land" that composed the northern and southern ends and making a sort of river between the second-thickest parts of vine platform "land" that made the eastern and western parts. The northern end was cordoned off by thick, thorny vine fences like the ones that surrounded the chest with his Boomerang, with only a small opening that he could not jump to even if he tried. The southern half, in its southeastern corner, had a little "island" below the level of the main floor (while still on the same floor) with a large stump slice in the center. He found a chest marking there on his map, but didn't find any there.

According to his compass, he currently stood directly above the diagonal river that had served as his entrance. He found that the place where this river met the same waterway in the other room was where the door was. The door, on this side, was unlocked. He even tested it by opening it but not going through. 'Must be a one-way door.' He shrugged and continued to survey the room.

The water also spread around five little islets. One was against a wall in the northwest corner of the room between the western and northern "landmasses". One was against a wall in the northeast corner and was considerably smaller. One oval-shaped islet was a little to the west of the northeastern one just mentioned. Two circular ones were in the southern half and made the water form a sort of moat between them and the "mainland", which made skinny, catwalk-like ledges to the west or east, depending on if it was the more southwestern one or the more eastern one(this one was more south than north, but was north enough to be considered more east than southeast). On the middle of each islet was a crystal orb switch, elevated by a shortish (but taller than Link) tree stump. On the northwestern one, though, it was more towards the southeastern end of the platform-the middle spot would have caused the small chest sitting there to be inaccessable.

Link hopped over to the chest and kicked it open. He frowned a little disappointedly as all he brought up was a measly yellow (10) rupee. He then noticed that in a location on the mainland near each switch was a signpost. He jumped back to the mainland and read the sign by the one on the islet he was just on.

"I finally got here and stopped to withdraw before flying straight home."

He tilted his head with a puzzled expression before he went and read the one most south of him (near the southwestern islet).

"Managing to avoid being blown around again, I made it down here for a scenic view before changing course."

Link raised an eyebrow and walked to the one near the eastern islet. Here, he finally had an idea of what these posts were talking about.

"Sparrow's Day Out

"This is my nest, where I left."

He nodded to himself. 'I have the feeling these switches are to be hit in a certain order as described by the story on these signposts,' he thought as he went to a signpost in front of the northeastern, wall-touching islet.

"I was blown here and had to wait a second before leaving."

He finally read the one near the oblong islet, whose shape and switch made it resemble an eye somewhat.

"I first stopped here, at my friend's nest, for a visit."

He put a hand to his chin and thought. 'Alright...' He turned south and looked at the eastern one. 'Sparrow began down there...and then first visited his (I think) friend up here.' He looked at the eye-shaped one. 'If I remember correctly, since he referred to avoiding being blown around again down there,' he continued, looking at the southwestern islet, 'and he said that he was simply blown over here,' and he looked at the northeastern islet, 'that means that, from his friend's nest, he was blown to the east up to the northeastern islet.' He looked over at the islet where the chest was. 'I remember he 'finally' got over where that yellow rupee was before returning home, so he went there last. Thus...' He got his boomerang out.

"...He went from his nest to his friend's, got blown northeast, flew southwest, and went to the northwest...before he went back home!" he concluded, deciding to add that last part because it couldn't hurt, and targeted the corresponding switches in order. He noticed that, when he targeted the first switch again, he could suddenly see little lights floating in front of the switches that shone to him wherever he would move. The ones in front of the four others were red and he saw that there was one each. There were two grey lights and one green light in front of the first one. Now that he thought of it, he remembered that he imagined little green lights in front of each thing he targeted every time he used his boomerang's lock-on feature. 'I guess they were real,' he thought. He decided not to think about it too much and just threw the boomerang.

It flew first to the eastern circular islet, then the eye islet, then the northeastern islet, then the southwestern circular islet, and finally to the northwestern islet before returning first to the eastern circular islet, then to Link's hand. These switches turned pink when hit, but all were green when the boomerang hit the first one again. When the boomerang was caught again, a rumble was felt as a huge, thick bridge of vines grew from the southern landmass to the northern, meeting in the center and lacing together. He could now cross to the other side by walking across the vines through the gap in the thorn fences on the northern side and, at last, exit the room.

Link grinned as he put his boomerang away. "That was a fun little brainteaser," he commented. He didn't see a chest materialize in the southeastern corner, but the bridge was up and that was good for now. He went across and then to the door. (Phew! THAT was a hell of a room to describe! I need to draw more-detailed maps and post them online somewhere, then post a link in these chapters...though how I'll do the more-complex rooms such as the next and one in the next dungeon, I don't know...)

The next room found him facing MORE water. This time, ledges lined the walls circularesque room, each higher than the other. One ledge was actually alone in the center of the room. From each ledge was a wood slat suspension bridge that connected directly to the edge of each ledge and went right across to meet another, lower ledge-and I mean right across. They never met the ledge-only the air above. A vine from each corner of this open end hung the ladder up and kept it there.

The ledges themselves numbered in eight. The first, which was a little higher than the water and could be a place to climb out from if Link fell in, had no bridge to it and was the one the shopkeep's grandson had entered onto. There were two ledges directly across from him: the one in the center and the one up highest up. Two ledges were on his right, and the last three on his left were, along with the eigth and highest ledge, on 2F. The first four were on 1F. After he tested the vines suspending the bridge leading from him to the second ledge (the second-lowest), he had an idea about what it was he needed to do.

He estimated he could probably jump from each one to a short distance below each ledge. The ledges were equally-spaced in both distance apart in the room and height, and so the bridges were of equal distance, as well. So, all he had to do was sever the vines holding each bridge up, jump over, and use the fallen bridge as a ladder to climb up. He had to swim over to the first one, unfortunately, but he was getting used to being wet a lot of the time. He climbed up, finding the bridge sturdy enough, and tried his idea with the next bridge. He cut the vines, waited for the bridge to stop swaying enough, and jumped off the ledge.

He was right! He barely caught the ladder, but he could always get off the ledge faster and therefore jump farther to get a better amount of leeway. So, happily, he continued across the room, finding it thankfully free of enemies. While he climbed his way up to the second floor, he noticed that two more suspended bridges-these ones totally suspended, without a ledge to hold them-above him and level with the final ledge. They went over to the first ledge. He surmised that he could use these as a shortcut-walk to the first ledge from the second floor and fall to the deep water below as in front of the ledge as he could get. It was a scary thing to do, but he was brave enough to do THAT if he got this far.

Moving on, he reached the last ledge and opened the door to the only other room on 2F. He yelped as he found an outragous amount of overgrowth around him and coming at his arms and face. Grass grew long from below him and tickled his nose (though how grass could grow from super-thick vines he had no clue). The room, shaped somewhat like a cookie with a bite taken out (but sans the individual toothmarks), had water to the left and right of him, in the pointed parts of the cookie that resulted from the curved bite. He couldn't see them well now, but there were also walls of those thorny fences. He discovered this when, slashing blindly at the growth and running forward, he painfully slammed into one.

He then took a moment to calm himself and do a spin attack to free himself of the overgrowth for a moment. He looked at his map and found that there were no markings for these fences except for the part he was now at. He then saw that the room, therefore, was pretty open. 'This gives me the feeling I'm inside of a garden maze,' he thought. 'And the walls aren't just corn stalks or hedges.'

He shrugged and got his sword out again after putting his map back. He walked along, doing spin attacks to clear the harmless, but annoying, vegetation. He was able to see the fences better as he got closer to them, both in reality and on his map. (He could see them normally if he stopped and looked hard, but they blended in with the . As soon as he had approached them, the thorn fences were shown on the map, represented as straight lines with a zigzag running from one end to the other. 'That's handy,' he thought. 'Must be the power of the compass.' He went and continued exploring the southwestern portion of the room he was in.

After taking three lefts (and making a right), he found a switch almost by accident. He saw something in front of him through the foliage and struck out with a horizontal swing, hitting the crystal globe switch. It glowed green and he heard, somewhere in the northern part of the room, the sound of a vine snaking away somewhere. He had also nearly decapitated a signpost. He read it.

"First, I flew over a pond before stopping here and altering my course."

'Another order of switches?' he wondered. 'But this switch went green-that means it's fine, if I'm getting this right.' He shrugged and went back to the entrance of the little spiral. He had discovered that he was thinking right in that it was a maze. There were walls of thorn fence around him, making corridors that gave him enough space to comfortably do a spin attack if he went in the center. There was a square of this amount of space where the switch was, so, since these mazes often went in a gridlike fashion with square spaces, he decided to think of these as "spaces". The corridors were then one space each, and the fences lined the edges of the spaces. He decided to go forward and find out if he could go behind the wall that was almost directly in front of the entrance (two spaces away). He could and found an intersection going east, west (where he had come from) and north.

He went north and decided to explore all the way. You could imagine his surprise when he was suddenly attacked by a deku baba at a dead end. He was able to defeat it, but he wasn't too happy. So, he went down back to the second intersection that was the space right above the first described just above. This one went north (he just got finished exploring there), south, and west. He went west, since his map indicated a chest directly that way. He found ten deku nuts, which helped, since he often used them in battle. The chest took up a space of its own. In fact, as he would later find, everything but the signposts took up a single space for itself if there was anything there.

After getting the nuts, he looked and saw that he was in a wide hall of two spaces wide east-to-west. The space just east of the nut chest was the western edge and, if he went north, met him with first a locked door-within-the-room, much like the one in front of the boomerang chest, then another deku baba in a dead end. After defeating that and going one space in front of it, he went east then north through a one-space corridor. He found partial spaces ahead due to his reaching the edge of the circular room and a chest containing a red (20) rupee, which made him happier than the yellow rupee did.

Discovering nothing more in that area of the room, he decided to return to the place behind the first fence (the one he ran into before). Going east one space from the intersection leading to the area he had just explored, he heard a rustle of leaves. He looked left (north) and heard the sound of something being spat at him. He couldn't see the hard, unopening deku nut flying at him like a bullet and was hit. He growled and sat up. 'Rustling and spitting nuts,' he reviewed. 'Deku scrub.' He stood up and walked forwards with his shield up. The nuts met the wall of his wooden sheild and broke, but the one firing them a space north from the space where Link had been shot at disappeared as soon as Link got there. He couldn't truly do anything except clear grass, so he did and moved to clear a swath of open spaces with his spin attack across the two-space wide hall going four spaces north (starting with the space the scrub hid in being the southwestern corner of it).

As he went along, he discovered that the space east of the deku scrub was the line of fire for ANOTHER scrub. He found that it was in the third space north. He tried his best to ignore them for the moment before he went west after reaching the northwestern corner. He found another switch and signpost.

"Robin's Day Out"

'Eh?'

"Here my nest is, where I left."

'Robin? I wonder...is this...!' He raised his eyebrows. 'Yes, this HAS to be what will trigger that one chest to appear!' He nodded and hit the switch.

He heard something and looked at the wall right north of the northwestern corner of what he found was the central hallway. He saw four thick vines stretching parallel to the floor across a distance of one space's width, a space up near the ceiling where he soon assumed one more had been after seeing one on the bottom slither into the thorny growth of the fences around him. 'There must be a total of five single-strike switches in this room,' Link thought as he peered through the remaining vines. 'That looks like a large chest, but it's...different...'

He grunted as the deku scrub that had first hit him struck him in the butt with a nut. He turned and saw that he had an easy way to do things if he found a way to deflect nuts with his shield or something: By standing in the spot the second scrub was, he could now see the first clearly after taking care of so much overgrowth and hit it from afar. He went to the second scrub, which (with a groan) receeded before it could fire a nut at him and raised his shield to the first. Before he used his boomerang, he had an idea, using a technique that Betta had taught him once.

The nut came at him, but before it hit, he thrust his shield out. It whacked the nut and sent it flying right back at the scrub. It hit the scrub, which squeaked and jumped out of its hole before wildly jumping around. Link took the opportunity to rush over and defeat it with a jump attack. He then spun around and blocked another nut. He repeated the process with the other one and cleared the hallway.

After that, he continued onwards through the maze. He went up to behind the eastern fence of the central hallway and soon found that a deku scrub shot at him from the other end, in a little one-space dead end that went from a three-way intersection whose only new way was east. After clearing the corridor, backing away with his shield up from the north until the scrub came up and shot at him again and defeating the mean little thing, he went through this new way. He went down a classic maze staple, a switchback corridor, going east, then west, and east again before meeting another switch and sign.

"After my good deed for the day, I flapped here to pay a visit to a friend."

'A friend...' Link nodded. 'She must mean Sparrow!' He looked at his map and, using an inkpen full of ink he had filched from the study, marked on the map the spots of the signposts. 'The one near the vines I'm working on said that's the nest, and the one in the southwest said that she flew there first-first two down. I haven't gotten anything about a good deed, but that might mean this is fourth, seeing as there's still a 'finally' kind of sign...' He put his map away before going back out of the switchback area.

He ended up nearby the door, finding himself in a two-space wide (north-to-south) hallway that would stretch to the eastern wall of the room and another deku baba. Then, a corridor that went around the wall (and thus wasn't quite two spaces wide or one space wide) led him north. He found a deku baba in the center of a 2x2 space square-thus breaking the each-object-has-one-space norm to this room-right north of the switchback area. It guarded a chest that was in its own little dead end, right east of the deku scrub "turret" that had fired at him a few moments before. Inside the chest was a small key, which he knew to use on the locked area on the west side of the room. He continued to explore this area, though, since the path went around the north fence of the deku scrub's square. He had to semi-blindly defeat a deku scrub in a little fence corner before looping around and finding another switch in the final complete two-space (east-to-west) wide hallway. He hit it and read the signpost accompanying it.

"Finally, after I was blown here, I simply glided the last, short distance home."

'This makes number five,' Link thought, marking on his map. 'This makes me sure, now, that this is the one to get that chest to appear in the islet switch room! I wonder what it is...'

He made his way all the way back to the northwestern part of the room, opened the door, explored north, found a deku baba, and then went to the south to find the final switch and sign.

"I soared straight here to the bank to deposit for a stranger."

'Yup! The bank-that islet with the chest! I knew it!' He looked at his map. 'In fact, the signs' and switches' locations vaugely resemble that of the islets.' He smiled to himself as he jogged his way to the now-up-for-grabs big chest. 'I have to admit, as tiring and long as this night is becoming, I'm enjoying this just a little bit. I never expected a brain teaser like this...' He stopped and laughed after he thought about that. "Gee, thanks, Robin! That was REALLY nice of you!" he thanked sarcastically. 'Really, ten rupees is better than nothing, but still...' He shrugged and went to the big chest.

The around-six-space room that the chest was in was already clear and was, indeed, vines underneath. There were a few pots sitting around that held various things like a scant few deku nuts or some health-restoring hearts. Link noticed the chest appeared to be made of thick, woven sticks and vines instead of just plain wood. He shrugged and opened the chest.

He gasped and smiled as he pulled out what was inside. A large, ornate key that actually resembled the wooden-made padlock (incongruently on metal chains) that locked the large door to the thief in that it, too, was whittled entirely from wood was now in his possession. "YES!" he cheered as he held it up in victory. "I finally got the big key I need to get the shop till back!"

He wasted no more time as he raced back through the rooms he had puzzled out to get to the thief. Well, almost...When he returned to the room with the five islets, he discovered that the switches were dimmed, the moblins were back, and the bridge was gone.

After dealing with the moblins as before, Link jumped into the water, climbed up the eastern vines, and stood in one spot while he attempted his idea.

'The switch most in the middle of the room going east to west said that Robin's nest was there and was where she left,' he reviewed, targeting the eye islet (which was, indeed, the islet most in the middle of the room going east to west) first.

'She went first to the spot where she changed course, which not only was the place where Sparrow changed course and was in the most southwestern end of the room according to the maze room, but was also the only place given the mere description of being over water.' He targeted the southwestern circular islet's switch second.

'Then, since she went to her friend's after doing a good deed and had to go somewhere else before finally returning home, she went to the bank and dropped off that yellow rupee for a stranger who happened to be me,' he continued, targeting the northwestern switch third.

'Said good deed carried out, she visited her friend-Sparrow, who mentioned that her nest was the nest of a friend of his.' He targeted the eastern circular islet's switch fourth.

'''Finally', incedentially ending up in the same place where Sparrow was blown as well as the closest place home, she was blown off-course for a moment...' he went on, targeting the northeastern switch fifth.

'...before taking a short glide back home!' Finishing his logic, he targeted the eye islet's switch once more. "She started at home, went to the course correction place, deposited at the bank, visited her friend, got blown off-course, and finally went home!" he nutshelled before letting fly. He crowed in triumph as the switches lit up green before the boomerang returned to his hand. He heard the sound of a chest appearing and, wishing to reap the spoils of his problem-solving, went to the large container.

Inside, he discovered another strange heart-shaped gem. "That's it?" he thought, a little disappointed. He shrugged and absorbed it. "Oh, well, I might as well take it." He absorbed it and climbed up the vines leading back to the platform and went back into the zig-zag room that he had to swim under.

As expected, he was trapped in and faced with another five switches that would unlock the vines that hat moved from their original position to one a bit more west. Then, he grumbled and went into the waterway once more. He finally got back out to the main room, where he first had to speed over to the central stump and take out the sharklike fish (to no avail if he wanted another chest) before climbing back up the climbing vines and standing on the plus-shaped vine bridge, facing the door.

He raced to the big door and drew his key after taking some time to rest a bit. Before he went in, he heard a rustling in the grass nearby. He looked down and saw a mysterious light in the grass there. He cut the grass there, and saw, to his amazement, a bona-fide fairy! A glowing magenta orb with wings. He then remembered hearing from Betta that adventurers put any fairies like this in bottles and keep them with them in case they fall in combat. Should they have a noble heart, the fairy would come out of the bottle and restore their energy and then laugh at death in the face. Having a feeling of dread in his belly, Link decided it best to put this guy in his bottle. And as he swung it and corked it in, he remembered how he felt when he'd gotten his bottle.

"If you use your imagination, you'll never leave home without it."

He remembered his wise grandfather's words and smiled. But then, a thought occured to him. 'Did he...KNOW about this...?' He shook his head, though, saying to himself that it couldn't be, since Bardin isn't psychic, is he? Cutting more grass to discover some of those very helpful hearts, which restored people's physical health by magically healing wounds and restoring their life force, something adventurers found quite helpful, Link finally jumped up and jammed the key inside the lock, then leapt again and turned it before landing. The lock fell with him, and he barely moved his feet in time before they were crushed. The chains creeped back into the walls, and the giant mass of vines untangled. Darkness faced him, but Link pressed forth bravely, ready for anything now.

After a dark tunnel, he found himself in a very big room, much larger than the one before. He'd heard voices as he'd entered, and now, he saw the theif standing and facing what looked like a single stump in the middle of the room. Looking around, Link noticed that the branches and vines convoluted and meandered into more platforms, but they all, strangely, centered around the center of the room. Towards the stump. As he stepped in, the door behind him shut, the mass of vines retangling, and he had a feeling that they weren't going to unbind again. Looking back to his front, Link stepped forward softly, trying to eavesdrop on what looked like a man talking to himself.

"But we had a DEAL!" the theif, unhooded but back turned to Link, shouted, opening his arms to emphisize. "Look, I said before that I'm only doing this because I need that shard..."

'Shard?' Link thought, and creeped forward more.

The torches around the stump cast shadows going in all directions around the stump and the theif. A moment passed, and, amazingly, Link heard a voice come from the stump. "I have changed my mind," a growling voice rumbled. "And if you have a problem with that, then I would prepare to die."

The theif, instead of gulping or gasping or making ANY sign of fear, groaned in an exasperated manner. He put his face in his palm. Link also noticed the money was GONE. "I saw a friend of mine persuing me, and he's the shop's grandson," he said to the stump, which was obviously posessed. "I don't want him to get hurt..."

Link surpressed a gasp. He recognized the voice now, and he knew who the theif was talking about. He stepped forward, desire to get to the bottom of this overpowering any wisdom.

The theif started and turned to the noise of a foot crunching on a twig underfoot. Both gasped. Slowly, the man gibbered, "L...L...Link?"

Link had his mouth open, but he closed it and glared. And with that glare, he silently asked, "Why, Betta? Why?"

Betta looked down in shame. "I'm sorry, Link," he said. And this guy never lied, Link knew that. He never could hear anything but certainty in the man's voice when he spoke. Even now. "I had to. It was the only way that I could get-"

"ENOUGH!" the voice boomed. Suddenly, a vine came from the stump and bashed Betta right off. He rolled to the side, slamming into the far wall. He groaned, and struggled to get up. Link, however, was able to backflip away and draw his sword. "You have heard too much," the voice said, "and you have caused me great trouble. At first, I did not know whether to kill you inside me or not, but I decided to play with you." Slowly, the stump grew and grew, changing shape into that of some...THING...Link gazed up, open-jawed at the magnificent beast growing before him. The room was, beneath him, shrinking up to the center, revealing parched trees and stones that the branches covered. It continued, "However, you have gotten farther than you should. For that, I shall have to consume you within me. You...and after you, that coward of a fool who thought I would give up my shard to him!" The creature stopped growing and loomed over Link, easily twenty feet tall.

It was entirely of wood. Like a giant tree, actually. Rooted to one spot, it was like the upper body of a man. Branches formed two great arms. Hair of leafy branches came from a pair of red, glowing eyes and a gaping, drooling mouth with enormous fangs of what looked like glass, full of some violet gunk Link rather didn't know. The whole room, by now, was bare save for some ground around the monster. The trees around it, frail from lack of sun and water, were still standing and in their contorted shapes from the bindings. This thing was rooted, and Link absently began formulating some sort of plan involving using the trees around as platforms to climb up to the behemoth.

Looking down at Link with a rageful, hungry expression, it boomed, "Thank you for the rupees, shopkeep's boy; my minions shall spread rumors of a great treasure of a mountain of rupees here and lead fools to become food for myself. A pity they shall succumb at my entrance, for I prefer to eat my food with my own mouth. And for THAT, I thank you as well, DINNER!" And with that, Link jumped aside to evade a vine snapping up to get him and simultaneously recalled an urban myth he'd heard somewhere about this forest.

Within it lay the Leviathan of Wood: Ruedekul. And here it was. Ready to tear Link limb from limb. But there was one weakness it had, and Link was determined to not only get through this alive, but to exploit this weakness: It was rooted to its spot. It needed to draw food towards it, instead of going and getting it itself! Link knew that he had to try and defeat it. But, even with that weakness known, how do you defeat a Leviathan?

Betta watched in wonder as Link bravely faced this beast. "Link..." he whispered in amazement. He was too hurt to get up and help, he knew. "Don't...die..."

Another vine from the floor shot towards Link, and he had to roll under an arch it made to evede it. Indeed, it swung where he was originally. For a plant, it moved fast. Link looked around. He had to find its weakpoint, but where was it? Wait, those teeth...They looked familiar. Link spotted a giant tree and jumped to it. It was old, and a great vine from the beast would bring it crashing down. But it was taller than Ruedekul, and as Link navigated it as fast as he could go, he found that it provided a perfect place to go and get to him. The branches and impressed trunk all made perfect stepping stones, but he had to be careful not to fall from being struck by the beast. As he got higher, the tree was punched by the leviathan, and it shook. Link had to hold still to keep on, and he almost got hit by a vine potshot from the beast. Despite these dangers, Link bravely climbed until he was level with the beast's face. He then had a crazy idea. He jumped right down to the thing's shoulder and got his boomerang out. Quickly, he targeted the three teeth visible. He tossed the weapon and jumped and grabbed the hair of the beast to evade a smash on the shoulder from the opposite hand. Then, with a mighty roar, Ruedekul bowed his head and revealed, within the tangled vines and branches of his hair, a soft-looking, pulsing red mass. As Link's boomerang returned to him, he moved to a safe standing position. He grabbed his rang, put it away, and got his sword out. With a warcry, he landed a jump attack on the mass. The beast roared and his head shook a bit, but not too much. Link kept his footing in and landed a combo attack on the beast. Blood spurted out the obviously weak mass.

Finally, after a combo, Link was thrown off the beast. He barely grabbed the trailing hair to slow his fall and was able to roll safely away. In a rage, Ruedekul smashed the tree Link was on with countless vines and both fists at once. The dead wood splintered with a loud boom, and pieces fell down to the ground. Only a few remained. And Link knew he had to hurry up the trees, or else he'd have no way of beating this thing. He could try climbing up its back, but vines would smack him off before he got there. He had to try using the trees again. He risked the beast figuring his strategy out and destroying them, but that was a risk he'd have to take. He and his grandfather worked hard for those rupees, and Link was determined to get them back, as well as have breathing time to talk to Betta.

As Link climbed up another tree, Ruedekul roared, "YOU SHALL PAY FOR THAT, HUMAN!" and whamed the tree so much, it shook Link off. He slammed into the ground and got up again quickly, running back to the same tree. He was in great pain, and his lunch was fighting to escape him, but he wasn't going to be sick at a time like this. This time, when the beast tried shaking him off again, he jumped to another tree and continued climbing up that one. He jumped from tree to tree before, finally, Ruedekul tried to fake him out and grabbed both trees he was using. In a burst of inspiration, Link leapt up and jammed his sword in the hand above him holding the trunk. He held on and climbed up as the hand, which now hurt, was brought back to the beast. He pulled it out and was about to run across to the shoulder again when he thought, 'Wait, I have a perfect shot here!' So, he pulled his boomerang out and got the now four teeth visible to him. Remembering that, too, Ruedekul's arms fell limp when it was stunned, Link ran across the arm to the shoulder and jumped onto the hair before the boomerang was done. Catching the returning tool, he raced to the weak point. Again, he landed hits on it. And again, he fell down and caught Ruedekul's hair on the way to take no damage.

The hair's owner was now furious, not to mention on its last legs. "I SHALL NOT LOSE TO A CHILD WITH A WOODEN SWORD! I AM THE iMASTER/i OF WOOD!" it shrieked, and it broke the two trees Link was using before. But then, it got smart and, before Link could get to them in time, broke the remaining two trees. And then, as his heart sank low to his stomach, the young swordsman backed away as he realized that he was officially screwed. Chuckling, the Leviathan of Wood slowly turned to face its food. "Brave effort, dinner, but not brave enough!" it gloated, and snagged Link with a vine. Struggling, Link was helpless in the tight, thick vine. He was brought forth to the beast's mouth, about to be consumed. 'What'll I do?' he thought furiously, analyzing all the things he could do. But then, he had an idea. A risky one, but it was an idea. He looked to the right of the leviathan's face, out into the distance. And, with all his might, he screamed, "LOCUSTS!"

Ruedekul gasped and spun its head around. It loosened its grasp just for a moment, and Link wormed his way out enough to pull his boomerang out, get his arms free, and get ready. Realizing it'd been tricked, the beast growled and turned back, five teeth bared. "ENOUGH! YOU ARE NOW MINE!" it roared, but while it was speaking, Link was targeting the five teeth with his boomerang. By the time Ruedekul finished its sentence, Link had thrown his boomerang. Ruedekul only had time to register that Link had thrown something before it felt a pain in its mouth. And it overwhelmed it finally, as the fluid in its teeth finally seeped out of cracks in the glass fangs. This fluid held a chemical that kept it from feeling the pain that it constantly felt from being so contorted. It hurt a LOT to twist oneself as much as it did, even in its true form. While the teeth were replaced with new ones, Link could have time to slash its weakpoint, its exposed fleshy brain. And Link did so. The vine let him free and it fell. Link rushed and jumped onto the giant's arm, scrambled up it as it fell, and jumped onto the shoulder. With great haste, he soared up to the hair, scurried up it like a monkey, and then, with an almighty roar, leapt and plunged his wooden sword through the center of the brain's weakened membrane. It cut through, and it penetrated. To ensure its death, Link twitched the sword around in there to destroy as much as possible before backflipping back out.

An earth-shaking roar resounded from the maw of the Leviathan. Its body swayed about, throwing Link down. He grabbed a strand of hair and swung down, a la Tarzan(minus the yell and chest-pounding), to the place he began the fight. Then, he watched as the mass of wood swung around and around, flailing about. Pieces of wood fell, one at a time, then more, and more, and finally, as the sun's rays above dramatically began to shine upon the world, the whole beast just stopped, erect, like a tree, before exploding into a thousand pieces. Rudekul was no more. Link defended himself with his sheild, and then returned to find nothing but a large heart-shaped object fall, tinging as it bounced off the ground, where the Leviathan once stood. With a flourish, Link sheathed, sorta, his blade, not bothering to wipe it off.

He stood there, panting, for a few moments, body screaming in pain at him from his efforts. His stomach still churned, but his joy at his victory kept it down. He'd jump up and down like a little kid to express his emotions, but he had no more energy. But just as Betta was about to get up and speak to him, something shined in the growing daylight. Link and Betta looked up and gasped as a beautiful object began to float down to Link. Slowly rotating, the magic within it let it gently float down to Link's open hands. Link looked down and saw, still hovering in his hands and rotating, a single bronze ring. It bore a green gem in it, in the shape of a small triangle. Amazed, Link felt some sort of power from it. Having a feeling about it, he decided not to put it on. He instead closed his hands around it carefully. The glow it gave off faded, and he felt it fall into his palms.

"Link..."

Link turned to the voice. "Betta," he said, running to him.

Betta limped over to him, holding his arm. "That..." he gasped, still amazed that this 16-year-old boy had done this. "I can't believe you were able to get that from it!" he blurted out, falling onto Link, who caught him and strained to support him. "That...I...I can't believe that I had to steal your money to get that..." He looked away, breathing heavilly. "I'm sorry..."

Link patted his shoulder. "It's okay," he said softly. "This thing...I feel something weird about it. What is it?" he asked. He opened his hand and picked out the ring and held it in his fingers, up to the light.

Betta sighed, then coughed. "No, I'm okay," he insisted, when Link looked at him with alarm. "Just winded. And my arm's broken. But that..." He paused. "That's the bronze Ring of Dualty. If anyone besides the chosen ones who are able to weild evil's bane tries to wear any of the Rings of Dualty, they'll become an evil beast, hellbent on doing wrong and satisfying only its own needs." He came and lifted his hand, but then let it drop. "And I think you deserve it more than I do," he mumbled. "I mean, I just wasted all your money."

Link furrowed his brow. "Where would it be?" he asked, looking around.

"I gave it to Ruedekul," Betta replied. "It probably was all destroyed when-WOAH!" Link had left him, causing him to have to catch himself before he fell down completely, and was walking forward to the site of the stump. There was a hole in the ground. It was surrounded by a ring of light that became more of a pillar of light, really, ascending upwards.

Link looked down. "There! It's the money!" he cried. He bent down to get it. He grasped it, and then, immediately, he began to float up. "What the-?" he shouted, clutching the bag tight and looking around at the ground falling away. "What's going on?" he shouted down.

Betta looked up and let out a laugh. "I've seen those in caves in places," he replied. "They're magic beams of ascending light that take you back to where you entered the cave, or in this case, forest. I'll see you in a bit!" he called after the disappearing young man.

A few moments later, after a flash of light, Link fell, then slowed to a halt above the ground, in front of the entrance to the Forest of Peril. He landed, on the bag of rupees, after a second of floating there. Link blinked. "That was different," he mumbled, and then got off the bag. He tugged on it and heaved it up on his back. He wondered if he should return to the spot he left his friend. Then, a beam of light appeared in front of him. Coming down it, like Link did, was Betta. He landed and then walked to Link, holding the heart-shaped object from before.

Before Link could ask, Betta explained, "This thing should also go to you, and it's something you'll find helpful. It's called a Heart Container to adventurers, and it makes you feel even more energetic and able to take hits. In other words, it magically improves your physical defense. Just let it absorb into your body, like you would a normal heart." He tossed it to Link.

Link squeaked, unable to catch it, but followed orders and let it hit. Like he'd let a heart break apart and absorb into his body, healing it, the heart container shattered into many pieces and faded within himself. He suddenly felt a surge of energy. All the pain he'd felt before was gone. His fatigue disappeared. With renewed vigor, he adjusted the heavy bag of rupees on his back. "Thanks, Betta," he said. "I needed that."

Betta smiled. "No problem, Link," he replied. He looked up as dawn came in full. "Wow...I can't believe that I was standing there, arguing with a talking tree stump, for that long," he mumbled. "And you must have been lost for quite some time in that maze," he added, looking to Link.

Link nodded. "I can't believe it's day now, either," he said. "Long night...Whoo, now I feel sleepy," he laughed, telling the truth.

Betta laughed. "Let's go," he said. "I'll lead you out and we'll explain to your grandfather together."

They only took a few steps, but they heard the distant scream with perfect clarity: "WHERE'S MY MONEY?" Cringing, the two looked at each other. "Can you run?" Link asked. Betta nodded. "Good, cuz that's a good idea about now..." The two ran as fast as their jelly legs could carry them back to the village.

"...And that's the whole story," Link finished. He and Betta had just explained what had happened. They were inside Bardin's Bargins, in the back where the goods were kept.

Bardin stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I had a feeling that Link was going to go out sometime," he said after a moment, "which is why I gave him the bottle. But an adventure to go after a rupee theif? From MY shop?" He chuckled. "THAT was unplanned." He looked at Betta. "Why, again, did you take all of our hard-earned rupees?" he asked.

Betta looked down in shame. "I had to pay a bribe to that lying beast, the Leviathan of Wood, Ruedekul, to get its Ring of Dualty," he repeated. "And...I wanted the ring because I wanted to keep it out of the hands of darkness."

Link and Bardin went, "Huh?" at this, and looked at him, motioning to go on.

Betta sighed. "Now," he began, looking at them each in turn, "this may sound a little far-fetched, but here's what I know: A lot of evil creatures are working together to gather the three Rings of Dualty. I don't know what happens when all three are worn at once, but it's probably something bad. However, I DO have an idea that, if an individual ring can be safely worn by the one destined to weild evil's bane, then that person can wear the three rings at once safely. I don't know what happens, but...it must be something amazing," he said, shrugging. "And here's the really far-fetched part," he continued. "You see, I got that information from an interesting contact I have somewhere up in the mountains." He paused a moment. "He's a friendly scholar named Ko, and he...he's a lizafos," he spat out.

Link tilted his head, confused, but Bardin gasped. "A LIZAFOS?" he boomed, apalled at Betta. He looked at him like he was crazy. "You're trusting one of THOSE scaly fiends?...I didn't know they could even speak Hylian!"

Betta nodded. "Ko learned how to, because he wanted to read more books than the few that his people wrote, which really were only records, not really any fiction." he explained. "He's really friendly, and in fact hates how most of the people in his village are evil. He's a monster, but a GOOD monster!" he insisted. "And trust me, he's as good of a liar as I am, meaning he just plain sucks."

Link and Bardin made "Hmmmm..."s and crossed their arms, debating silently with each other through glances. Finally, Bardin turned to Betta again. "Well, you have a point, you can't lie worth shit," he admitted. "So, okay, there's a good lizafos that gave you information. What else did he say?" he asked.

Betta shrugged and shook his head. "That's all he really said," he confessed. "But it's important. VERY. We NEED to keep that ring secret." He looked at Link. "And I think you're the most well-suited one to do so," he told him.

Link started. "Me?" he asked, putting a hand to his chest. "I'm just a-"

Betta laughed. "You're just a young man who, single-handedly, not only conquered the Forest of Peril, but also defeated one of the legendary Leviathans, the Leviathan of Wood, Ruedekul! And with a weapon that isn't even a real sword, no less!" He just laughed and laughed. "Link, my boy," he said through laughter, "you're not just anything, you're SOMETHING!" He clapped the young man's shoulder. "And I think that you deserve this sword, too, more than I deserve to swing it around and call myself an adventurer," he added, unbuckling his sword.

Link and Bardin gasped. "Betta!" Link breathed, looking as his friend got his sheathed blade from his side. "You...That's your favorite sword! You're...You're giving it to me?"

Betta nodded, smiling fondly. "And I'm not accepting 'no' as an answer, Link," he answered. He held out his sword to Link. "I was cowardly enough to follow the beast's bribe and steal your money. You, on the other hand, were so brave, you went on in after me with nothing more than a wooden sheild, a wooden sword, and your work clothes! That's barely any armor whatsoever!" He laughed. "Not even a full tunic, you loon! Just a smock and a shirt and a pair of trousers! You ARE brave!" He laughed again.

Link gave a small smile. "Hey, I didn't have time to change when I saw you raiding our shop, what else could I have done?" he asked, shrugging.

Betta sighed. "I know." He wiggled the sword in front of Link. "Go on. She's yours. May you slay more beasts with her than I did. I HAVE slain things, trust me," he assured them. "I'm just not as brave as you, Link."

Link gulped down a thankful tightening in his throat and took the blade. It was heavier than his wooden sword, but he could take it, he knew, with a bit of practice. A REAL sword! And Betta's! He drew it and gasped at the shining blade gleaming back at him. "Thank you, Betta," he said emphatically, bowing. "I'll take good care of it...her," he corrected. He then replaced his crappy-ass wooden sword with a real man's sword, Betta's sword. He put the sword back over his shoulder and gave a small laugh of wonder as he felt the powerful weight on his shoulder.

Betta smiled. "Link..."

Bardin sighed. "Link," he said, and his grandson turned to him, "I'm sorry, but if you're going to keep that ring, and monsters are going to be searching for it..." He shook his head. His expression was grim.

Betta had the same expression. His look of happy pride had faded.

Link felt a sinking weight in his gut as he looked at their faces. "What?" he asked. "What am I going to have to do?" He had a feeling he knew what. But he didn't want to accept it.

Bardin took a deep breath and looked away. Slowly, he answered in an undertone so that Link barely heard him, "You're going to have to leave the village for a while."

Link stood statuesque. ...Leave? He...He couldn't do that! He didn't know what lay outside the village! And...people needed him there...He muttered these reasons.

Betta chuckled and smirked. "The best thing you can do for them now," he said, "is keep them out of danger." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry for all this. It's my fault. If I hadn't gone and been stupid enough to steal those rupees, then you..." He trailed off.

Link shook his head. "No, Betta," he said, "you didn't know that that thing would lie to you. It's not all your fault. It's more mine. I was stupid enough to rush in after you," he reasoned, looking down and away. "And you know what?" he added. "I...I'm going to take this. I'm going to leave. But I promise," he said, looking back with a smile, eyes wet. "I'm going to return. Kochyrae won't be without me too long."

Bardin, also starting to cry, smiled weakly. "Grandson...Link..." He couldn't help but hug him. "I'll miss you the most. Be careful." He let go and stepped back. "I'll refill your deku nuts before you go. And..." He paused. Then, he went and rummaged through a crate, then brought out something that made Link gasp. "Here. A bow and arrows. You deserve them."

Link took them. "Grandfather...Thank you," he said breathilly, looking at the finely-crafted bow. "This is one of our high-quality ones, too! This one can shoot so far, it can take out an apple on a fence when it's as big as a grain of sand!" He wiped a tear away. "And...for free?" he added.

Bardin laughed. "Hey, I'm not gonna let Betta have the only gift for you," he reasoned. "Now...Get home and put on your sturdiest clothes. I'm sorry, but you'll have to camp outside town instead of rest here. You've got many days ahead of you of sleepless nights, I can tell." He looked sorry, and turned to try and hide it. "Go on, Link. Go on your adventure."

"Yeah, don't worry, either," Betta added. "You'll be fine. You're a fantastic adventurer. Just...stay alive, alright?" he asked.

Link sniffed and nodded. 'Don't cry, don't cry...' "I will, I promise," he said, and walked to the door. He turned one last time. "Good-bye," he said. "...For now."

And he walked out. The next time he was seen was later, when he came to get his free deku nut refill. This was done silently. And with one last hug goodbye. A hug from a smock-wearing shopkeep to a green tunic and conical cap-wearing swordsman. And as he turned to go, from behind, Link looked, to his grandfather, like one of the legendary heroes, walking out of a store from which valuable items were purchased and into the afternoon sun.


	3. The Village of Lizalfos

Dawn came to the village of semi-tame lizalfos. A ray of it shone down onto the house of Samba and Vardi. Samba, off work that day, gladly lazed in bed until he woke up, completely refreshed, around noon. He lazilly got his clothes on and walked out, enjoying the nice weather. He then went back in the house and grabbed his buckler and practice sword, intending to practice after breakfast/lunch.

After having some delicious cooked fish for brunch, the blue lizalfos walked out again and saw the group around the sign again. They were pretty agitated, it appeared. Ko was there, trying to talk to the others, who were too busy blabbing for him to get a chance. Drejsk and Thyu were there, as were a few of the fishermen.

"...ing on? Why did they dange the chate?" the rotund scaly asked, crossing his wide arms across his chest.

Thyu put his face in his paw. "'Change the date,' fat-for-brains," he corrected. "And I haven't a clue as to why, nor does anyone else here."

"I hear it's because there's something wrong with the weapons stock," said one of the fishermen. "I think they said there's been something strange going on and a lot of the workers are afraid to go to the area."

"And where are they located?" Drejsk asked.

"Finally, a clear sentance," Thyu rolled his eyes. He got a dark look from his enormous companion.

"Somewhere in the Empty Cavern," replied another fisherman.

"Then I suppose it's because of the Leviathan of Stone," Ko quickly put in, at last getting attention. He adjusted his glasses. "My books say it dwells somewhere deep in the long, twisting, confusing corridor that we call the Empty Cavern. If anyone gets close, it starts moving and shaking, causing them to run for fear of a cave-in."

Many of the others scoffed. "Ko, you know that's stuff's mothing but a nyth," Drejsk told him condescendingly.

"'Nothing but a myth,'" corrected the fishermen and Thyu.

"Do you realize how RUDE that is?"

"It's not a MYTH," corrected Ko, holding up a claw, "but a LEGEND. Myths are complete fantasy-legends are things that have a chance of having truth to them."

Thyu shook his head. "No, no, you old bookworm, it's the same thing. At least, nobody really cares about the difference." He shrugged. "The fact of the matter is that your words have not a single one."

Ko opened his jaw to protest, but shut it, realizing he was fighting a lost battle. "Fine, whatever," he huffed, then turned around to leave. He saw Samba standing there right as he did and jumped a little. "RAH!...Oh! Sorry, Samba! You surprised me!" He put a paw to his chest, then smiled softly. "You heard me, right?...Well, I believe something else..." He motioned for him to follow, and Samba followed him. He made his way around the crowd to his home, which was a ways away up a slope. Inside, bookshelves carved from the stone walls were filled to the brim with books and scrolls. Ko walked over to the net hammock he slept in and sat in it. "I've got a feeling I know what's going on," he told Samba.

Samba tilted his head in curiosity. "What were they all looking at?" he asked. His voice was deep, gruff, and naturally inquisitive. "What's this about the date being moved up?...That WAS the poster for the recrution countdown, right?"

Ko nodded. "Yes, it was," he replied glumly. "It appears that the day we're all to leave the village is the day after tomorrow."

Samba blanched, his face's scales turning the color of a pale sky. "Wh-WHAT?" he screeched. "But...I have to keep an eye on Vardi still!" He spread his arms apart to emphasize this.

Ko cringed and then stuck his pinky in his ear. "Ow."

Samba snapped his mouth shut and drooped his head a bit. "Sorry," he softly said. "But..."

Ko chuckled and shook his head. "I know, I know," he said. "But it's just you're worried about your sister." He smiled. "Don't worry, she'll be able to take care of herself, I'm sure. I'm going to TRY and make it so that I'm able to stay behind. Being the most literate person in the village, there actually might be a good chance of me being able to accomplish that," he added, taking off his glasses and wiping the lenses with a cloth. "That way, if I can stay behind, I could not only stay out of an ill-suited field of battle to stay within my much more well-suited field of studies, but I could look after Vardi, too."

Samba gasped and smiled. "Really?" he asked breathlessly, hope filling his chest. "You'd do that for me?"

Ko smiled and put his glasses on again. "I'd do a great deal of things for you, Samba," he answered. He chuckled. "I mean, after all, we're friends, right?"

Samba raised his eyeridges a bit, but then softened his look and smiled. "Yeah...you're right." He then looked serious again. "But what about what you brought me up here for?"

Ko nodded and looked serious again. "Well, I forget if I told you about this the other day, but the Leviathans of Material all possess a powerful artifact that they are not meant to hold, which is what causes their misshapen forms," he began, rummaging in his bag breifly before bringing out the book with the map he had the other day. "Namely, the Leviathan of Stone contains within its rocky mass a piece of the item I was talking about. The Empty Cavern is a treacherous place from which barely an adventurer from our village has returned from alive, and it is the home of this fierce beast. You remember I had a feeling that the cheif wants that item, right?" he asked. Samba nodded. "Well, I think he moved the date up to get it faster..." He looked left and right, then motioned for Samba to lean in closer.

In a low voice, he continued, "A good friend I have in Kochyrae just this morning told me that one of the pieces was obtained by someone who's opposed to us monsters, and had even gotten it themselves without help from anyone else. This means that the score is very imblanced, with the Hylians in possession of two of the three. Therefore, the chief is probably under great pressure to get the third item before the one who got the first one comes here to get it."

Samba raised his eyeridges. "I'll bet," he muttered.

Ko nodded. "Yes, and I have a bad feeling that if anyone tries to get it, even if they're successful, disaster is the only thing that's going to happen," he added. "Too bad that our chief is so foolish..." Ko sighed and shook his head.

A knock on the door startled both lizalfos into jumping. "Excuse me, Ko?" a voice from the other side asked. "Samba was said to be seen with you last. Is he there now?"

"Yes, he is," Ko answered, face falling. "Talk with you later, Samba," he whispered to the blue scalie before shutting his book and rising. "Coming, just a second," he called. He put the book away and walked to the door. He opened it and found the skinny Thyu along with the rotund Drejsk. Thyu looked a little bored, but Drejsk looked pretty happy, for some reason. Ko raised an eyeridge. "Yes, you two?" he asked.

Drejsk grinned toothilly. "Well, we just wanted to Salk to Tamba," he said confidently, before hastilly correcting, "Er! I mean TALK to SAMBA!" He grumbled about how he couldn't ralk tight-TALK RIGHT! See? So Thyu took over.

"We've heard that he's an excellent stone-thrower, able to throw a pebble so that it becomes like an arrow," he said. "Could we come and ask him for a demonstration?"

Ko raised his eyeridges, then turned to Samba. "Well, Samba? Did you hear all that?" he asked.

Samba nodded. "Sure, I'd love to show off my talent," he said, getting up. "After I'm done, I'll come back here so we can talk some more."

Ko smiled and nodded. "Specifically, teaching you as much Hylian as possible so that you're at least aquainted with the essentials before you leave," he said, and Samba groaned. Ko laughed. "Sorry, but I don't want you going off underprepared."

Samba sighed and shook his head. "Alright, Ko," he said, getting out and waving behind him, "see you!"

"Don't kill anyone who doesn't try the same to you!" Ko called after him, and Samba chuckled.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Thyu and Drejsk sighed heavilly and rolled their eyes. "How on Hyrule can you be friends with that loony?" Drejsk asked, thumbing behind him.

Samba bared his teeth. "You want me to aim for your head? Because trust me, it hurts," he threatened.

"Actually," Thyu said from behind Samba, holding a claw up, "that's sort of the idea. We want to see how actually lethal it is. Drejsk's got a front so thick that it can make arrows stick inside. Add to the fact he's a masochist, and we've got ourselves a perfect guage of pain."

Samba blinked, wide-eyed, at him. "You're joking," he said. "I find that hard to believe about Drejsk, personally."

Drejsk laughed and thumped his big front as the trio, now on the main level of the village, turned towards the area they knew Samba practiced at. "It's true! Though I'm not really a chasi-er, masochist! I just don't give a damn about pain. For some reason, I can get over it fast if I know it was coming for me, at least." He grinned and thumped his gut again. "That makes me a wonderful warrior!"

Samba grinned. "Great, that means I can go ahead and ask you to be a punching bag for me to take out my rage on once in a while," he joked. To his surprise, Drejsk said sure.

"Toldja he's a masochist," whispered Thyu, and Samba chuckled.

When they got to Samba's private practice area, Thyu threw Samba a Dodongo hide bag. "Alright, Samba, here's about 30 good pebbles," he said. "Take aim and let them fly at Drejsk's stomach, would you? And you can keep the bag afterwards, if you want," he added.

Samba, after he recieved the bag(do-do-do-dooo), nodded. "Sure thing," he said.

Drejsk got into position. "Let's start right here! Fave hun!"

"'HAVE FUN!'" corrected Thyu, and Drejsk laughed.

"I did that on purpose, sorry!"

Thyu groaned. "Has he been drinking...?"

Samba shrugged, then tied his bag to the side of his belt. Drawing a few, he asked if the tounge-twisted lizalfos was ready, then aimed. He held his left index claw out as a crosshair and his right paw back, holding some stones in his pinky and ring claws and one in his other digits. Then, he fired. With a rapid motion, he threw the pebble he had ready straight forwards, the projectile sailing in a straight path like an arrow and about as fast. It hit Drejsk, who grunted.

"Stop!" Thyu immediately said. "Drejsk, how painful was that? Arrow-painful?"

Drejsk nodded. "Yeah, whereabouts," he said. Then he thought. "Naw, no, sorry, more like just a little bit less. But pretty clamn dose." He shrugged and dug into his front for the pebble, which he withdrew after a second. It, indeed, hadn't gone very far at all. Drejsk examined it, chuckling. "It's kind of crazy to think of a simple stone being at least close to an arrow in strength as a projectile." He flicked it into the lake, then turned to Samba again, making the "bring it" motion. "C'mon! Let's see if that was a fluke or not!"

Samba nodded. He then threw four stones in a row, one after the other, in almost the same spot. He waved his arm left and right, each single wave being a stone being thrown. He was rapid-quick when it came to flicking up another stone to throw from the ones he held. When he was out, he quickly dug and grabbed some more and then launched them again. After another break for Drejsk to dig out the primative bullets(Samba noticed the hide appeared unmarked with blood, though his pebbles each lodged themselves inside of the scalie enough that he had to dig them out.), Drejsk began strafing left and right surprisingly fast. Samba hit him each time he tossed. Every time he was hit, too, Drejsk instantly changed direction.

Then, Drejsk took a break, and Thyu stepped up. Samba raised his eyeridges. "You're a masochist, too?" he asked.

Thyu laughed and shook his head. "No, I'm going to really test your aim," he said, and held up some old plates. "These things are brittle and old, barely able to stay together on me, and are really not suited for eating off of anymore. We'll use these as skeets. Ready?"

Samba nodded, then waited. Thyu soon expertly threw them with a perfect spin one by one, like frisbies, and, just as expertly, Samba shattered them with well-aimed shots. He was assisted a little by the fact they reflected the light just enough that he could keep his eyes on them easilly. But the next round, he had to try harder as these plates were darker. Regardless, he hit 18 out of 20 total, 10 light and 8 dark.

Thyu laughed and helped pick up the shards. "Pretty good, Samba," he said. "I guess those rumors were true."

Samba grinned as he picked up clay, placing the pieces into another, larger bag Thyu had with him. "Thanks. That was pretty fun," he said.

Thyu nodded. "I agree."

"Hey," Drejsk said, "that punching bag bit you talked about back there thot me ginking...GOT me THINKING, something I should do more before I flap my lips...how about a sparring bout with me after we're done here?"

Samba raised his eyeridges, then grinned. "Hey, while a willing live target is here..."

So, after the shards were picked up, Samba faced Drejsk. Drejsk, oddly, had brought his own practice sword with him, a stone one. "Made it myself," he boasted, swinging it. "It's invincible!" He patted his scaly left arm. The scales there seemed a bit...calloused. "And I've practically got a natural sheild, too!"

Samba nodded, drawing his weapon as well. He always had his sheild strapped on his left arm. After nodding to each other, the two began fighting. Samba was a bit shorter than Drejsk, so he had a bit of a disadvantage for strength. When they met in a clash, the blue lizard was bounced back with the power of the fighter. He barely recovered in time to block another attack with his sheild, which also knocked him back. Getting smart, he ducked the third blow and jumped. In the air, he aimed a kick to the weakest place on Drejsk's Goliathesque form.

With a grunt, Drejsk stumbled back with a bloody nose. As soon as he landed, Samba went and swung vertically at the great gut. His sword contacted it with a very satisfying smack. Quickly, the young warrior followed up with a stab, a spinning horizontal(not as impressive as Link's, though, since it didn't have as much effective striking range), and a reverse hook kick that reached the jaw as Drejsk leaned down to guard. After recovering from the combo, both went at it again. The fight went on, with Samba discovering that, indeed, Drejsk's left forearm was tough as a shield.

After the bout, Drejsk and Thyu grinned and stepped up to Samba. They each put a palm on a shoulder. "You know, you used to look wimpy," Thyu said, "but you're pretty good."

"Yeah, you can old your hown pretty well, too!" Drejsk said, laughing. "I don't think a sumo match would be an acceptable request, despite that, though."

Samba laughed, then bowed. "Thank you both," he said. "But now, I've got to go..."

"That's right! You've got a date with that coot-er, Ko, don't you?" Thyu asked.

Samba pretended not to hear and nodded.

"Well, go on. At least -I- promise not to make fun of him while you're around," Drejsk said, giving Samba a gentle push with his pudgy tail.

Samba stepped forward from it, stopped, looked back, and smiled a bit at the two before running back to Ko's, ready to cram.

Thyu sighed and shook his head. "You make friends with anyone who can give you serious pain like that, don't you?" he asked Drejsk, who just laughed heartily.

**...**

Link walked the road between his hometown and the next one, looking around. He'd decided to take this path for himself because of the fact it was right, and he always felt a need to do what was right. The road was wide, reasonably, and curved a bit. It was a bit rough in the stone walls of the shallow chasm, with myriad holes visable that he could potentially get inside. It was also pretty quiet that afternoon, which wasn't unusual, but after the night previous, Link was still a bit high-strung. He drew Betta's sword and looked at it. The blade was normal-looking and made of good, strong steel. The point was triangular, and the corner made by the starts of the base wedge shapes of the edges split into a Y there. The hilt was wrapped in leather, the pommel being a normal ring of metal-brass, or at least brass plated metal. The handguard was normal, straight barred, brass/plated, with upturned points at the ends. There was a Triforce symbol etched into the origin of the four angles of the sword. Link smiled and swung it a bit. 'Still heavy,' he thought, 'but I think I can handle it.' He sheathed it and continued onwards.

He finally got to the small field that was on either side of the road between Kochyrae and Betta's hometown. And, to his half surprise, there were a few beasts about that he had never seen before there. A few greenish, piglike creatures roamed around with a club, he saw, and big, not-very-friendly-looking birds were lurking around. 'Looks like I'm going to be able to try out my new sword,' Link thought grimly, drawing it. The ringing sound called attention to him, and the closest bird came swooping down. Link first tried slashing it as it came close, but, after being nipped painfully a couple times, said, "Screw it," and quickly put his sword and shield back to draw his bow and arrows. He shot the beast down quickly and then decided to take care of another one he saw flying towards him. After those two were down, he put his item away again to draw his sword and shield again. Two moblins came over and tried attacking. Link blocked, then slashed. The feeling of steel slicing flesh was indescribable to him, but he couldn't mull over it then. After shifting focus between the two enemies, he decided to just take them out with a spin attack.

After doing so, Link examined his sword. It was covered in green blood for a second before it, magically, evaporated with extreme speed. When he put it away, Link found that, like some of the enemies from the Forest of Peril, there were winnin's to be had from the enemies. He picked up the ruppees and put them in his wallet before continuing on. The sun was getting low already. He had to run if he wanted to reach the other side of the feild before nightfall. Ignoring all other attempted attacks, he barrelled down towards the ranch town.

He made it into the town before night fully set. It was twilight when he reached it. Torches had been lit by the time he got there, panting heavilly in his thick clothes and reasonably heavy pack. He shook his head and looked around, though, at what there was to be had here. He'd actually been here before, but not on his own. The first thing he saw was a sign.

''The Peaceful Ranch Hamlet of Ybayba Enapu welcomes you,'' he read. (The Y's aren't silent normally, but most people silence them for ease of speaking anyway.) 'I've always thought that was a funny name for a town, and couldn't help but think that it MEANS something...' Shrugging, Link walked on into Ybayba Enapu. Ybayba Enapu was a bit different than Kochyrae in structure. For one, the houses were all normal-looking by Hyrule standards, with wooden frames and flat, smooth walls between the posts of wood sticking out instead of completely wooden walls like at his home. The ground was dirt all around, even in front of the houses. Instead of a view of a forest, the town had a great ranch, full of horses, cows, and other farm and ranch animals. Link knew that there was an inn around there, and he was feeling hungry from the trek there, and wondered if he should stay here the night.

He walked around the vacating streets, looking for someone to point him in the right direction. He passed by a pair of women who came out of what appeared to be a bar of sorts and saw they were gossiping.

"-believe how many monsters there've been as of late!"

"I KNOW! It's dangerous to even step one toe outside the gates of town! How annoying!"

"You know what they say's been going on with that?"

"What, that silly rumor about a group of beasts getting together to plot overthrowing the kingdom? What ludicrousy!"

"Well, it SEEMS logical, to me," said the first woman, fading away as they went out of Link's earshot.

After a while, Link found another person, a man having a smoke outside his house as he watched the sunset. As Link approached, the man said, "Sunsets are so beautiful, huh?" Link nodded, glancing over his shoulder at it. Before he could speak, the man asked, "Hey, you're not from here, are ya?" Link shook his head. "Lemme guess: Kochyrae, right?...Thought as much," the man chuckled, smiling. He pointed his pipe at Link's outfit. "The green theme gives it away. Looks good on you, blondie!" he laughed. "Now, sorry, but what's it'cha want, now?"

"I've been here before, but I've forgotten where things are," Link began, but he was interrupted again.

"Oh, you say you've been here? Well, how in Hyrule could you've forgotten the town's layout! It's so simple, since this place isn't that much larger than your town," the man scoffed, but he sounded like he was speaking good-humorously. "But, anyway, sorry...here, y'got something to write on and with? I can draw ya a great map real quick!"

Link smiled and took out a piece of parchment he had with him that he'd taken from home. He brought them to attach to the large map he'd found in the Forest of Peril. He also brought a fountain pen with special ink that didn't ever dry in the well of the pen, too. "Well, here's some," he said, and the man grinned and took them.

After a few moments of furiously sketching out a map, the man handed them. "Here ya go, blondie! And I'd air that out before you put it in your...er..." He leaned to the side as Link took the map and pen to look at his back. "Are you just carrying everything in your pockets?" he muttered.

Link didn't hear him, though, and he put the pen away. Holding the map up to look at it and to let the ink dry, he said thank you and left the man, who waved after him. Link then looked at the map. It was, indeed, great. Surprisingly, considering the speed and time the man took, there wasn't a blotch of ink or a monstrously un-straight line where there should be a straight one. Even the titles of certain establishments were clearly written. 'Impressive,' he thought, and held the map out to let it dry while he went towards the inn.

Once in, he put the map away after testing its dryness with his pinky. He'd put it on the master map later on. He found a woman at a counter nearly directly in front as he entered. She had brown hair and a pretty, natural face. He walked over, at first about to ask for directions to some food, then raised an eyebrow as he got closer to the woman. She looked familiar...

The woman was apparantly thinking the same thing, since she had the same thoughtful expression. "Can I...help you?" she asked.

"Yes...If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" Link asked as politely as he could sound.

"My name? Oh, it's Tabitha," she answered. Then she and Link snapped their fingers simultaneously and pointed at each other.

"Link!"

"Betta's wife!"

The two laughed. "Oh, my, that was interesting," Tabitha said, smiling. She held her hand out. "How's it been, Link? The last time I saw you, it was about a year ago, when you and your father had come by our house to stay the night while you waited to talk to someone about a late shipment of materials."

Link nodded, smiling as well, and shook her hand. "I've been fine, up until a little while ago-yesterday, actually," he said. He was about to say more, but decided it wouldn't be prudent to tell Betta's wife, who loved the swordsman a great deal, that her husband had been hurt after stealing an enormous amount of rupees from his shop till. "I'm out on a self-assigned errand," Link half-lied.

Tabitha nodded. "That's nice. I hope it goes well. But, enough small talk, I'm at work, here..." She bowed. "Hello, and welcome to Enapu Nights, where weary wanderers wrestle worries away in sweet slumber! How may I help you?"

Link chuckled. "Cute," he complimented.

Tabitha beamed. "You like it? I made it up and have been trying to get the other ladies to do it, too, but they say it's stupid," she grumbled, but she smiled again. "At least my friend Elisa likes it!"

Link nodded. "Well, anyway, I'd like to know where I could grab a bite to eat?"

"Why, the tavern next door," Tabitha said, pointing to her right.

Link then smacked his forehead. "That's the one I passed by before!" he muttered. "I'm so clueless sometimes...Thank you, Tabitha," he said, before turning and leaving.

"Come again!" she called back.

Link exited that establishment and entered the next, the Ybayba Bar, "where weary wanderers wash worries away in delicious draughts!" as the woman who stood at the bar said as Link came to order something. She had red hair down do her shoulders and some makeup on.

Link chuckled. "I take it you're Elisa?" he asked.

She giggled. "Why, yes! I suppose you've met Tabitha, then?" she asked. Link nodded, and Elisa grinned. "I liked her catchy phrase so much, I modified it for here in the bar! Y'like it?"

"Yes, it's cute," Link agreed.

"Well," Elisa said, clapping her hands together, "what can I do y'for?"

"Ummmm..." Link's eyes lazed to the menus chalked up on the slates on the wall behind her. "Hold on for a second, this'll take a little...I don't do well when it comes to unimportant choices like this..." 'Funny, I can think on my feet rather well, but when it comes to ordering food...'

In the end, Link chose a pair of roast Cuccoo (that right?) legs and some "famous Ybayba Milk, being served for a limited time in a durable glass bottle that you can keep for yourself!" He ate and considered what he had to do and where he was. 'I've got to stay away from home, to keep them safe, and...well, I dunno WHAT I should do.' He thought for a moment, nibbling his Cuccoo leg.

Meanwhile, some people behind him, who were speaking, starting talking about something in a bit louder voice. "Speaking of the castle, you know what I heard a day an' a half ago?" asked one lazy-voiced man.

"Wha'?" said another man, this one with an old voice.

"Well, awright, y'know how they got this weird ring under heavy guard a couple weeks or so ago?"

"Yeah, I forget what it was called...had a triangular blue gemstone in it, I know."

"Well, turns out that they've gone and knocked the security up a notch around the entire town, as well, since monsters have been reported as roaming around a bit more lately."

"Yes, I think I heard about that...I haven't a clue as to why the beasts would become more restless now..." The man coughed.

"Well, I personally believe the rumor that it's some weird time that comes once every few thousand years, where monsters begin to instinctively roam around more as they wait for their bloodbath of all of Hyrule!"

The old man scoffed at this. "Ha-ha, very funny," he said humorlessly.

"Sorry. But I think that somethin's up, really, I do. Not something as crazy as that, mind you, but still...I bet it has something to do with that weird ring the Royal Family guards so hard. I hear it's got a legendary ability to allow two people to share something...I dunno what could be so special that a magic ring's needed to let people share it, but go figure." The lazy-sounding man yawned.

"Well, sharing a body could be something that needs magic, for example," suggested the old man.

A pause and a grunt from the lazy man, then he said, "Speaking of rings, I've been wanting to ask this one girl to marry me, but I can't find a good place for an engagement ring."

"Don't go to Kessler's House of Diamonds," warned the old man instantly. "I believe any store that advertizes that annoyingly often is bad."

"Too true, too true..."

The conversation went on to ring stores from there, and Link lost interest in eavesdropping on it. 'Well, thanks, guys,' he mused, smiling as he finished off his milk. 'I think I know where to go next, now...'

After he was finished, Link, taking the offer and keeping the bottle, stood and went out to the inn. It was now dark enough that Link couldn't see well without the torches lit all around. He went on into the inn, said hello to Tabitha, and requested a room for the night. He paid, then went to his room. It was a bit Spartan, with a plain bed, sink, and a chamber pot behind a screen, but it was cheap. Link knew to be thrifty, living with his grandfather all his life. He undressed, putting his stuff in a chair, and then went to sleep on his bed.

**...**

Samba growled a sigh of aggrivation as he messed up again. Night was setting in, and he had been with Ko the entire day, studying. They had gone to Samba's house for lunch and to teach Vardi as well, and had remained there. After encouragement from his sibiling and his teacher, he retried: "'I am Samba, warrior of the lizalfos village of Jgk'hry. I know not who my father was or is, but my mother is Ybir, and my sister is Vardi.'" He went slow at first, but gradually picked up speed as he went. "'With my sword I shall defend my home, and with my shield I shall defy all of my ehtisgy!'...DAMMIT! 'ENEMIES! DEFY ALL MY ENEMIES!' GRAH!" He put his claws on his head, aggravated. "I'm NEVER going to be able to speak normally in Hylian!"

Ko brought his eyeridges together, sympathetic look on his face. "Samba, you're doing wonderful. Ybir would be proud of your progress." He smiled proudly. "You've gotten extremely far with today, so far it would have taken a week normally!" He patted Samba on the shoulder. "But I think, with many straight hours of it, you'd best take a break for the rest of the day from Hylian. You've almost learned everything you need to in order to speak Hylian normally. You've already gotten very far, what with all of our lessons and such."

Samba sighed, nodding, and got up. "I'm going to start dinner, then," he said. "You want to stay and eat with us, Ko?"

"Sure!" Ko said, face brightening and tail wagging a little. He then blushed and grinned sheepishly, lowering his head at his rudeness. "Er, I mean, thank you very much, Samba," he said, and the two siblings laughed.

"That's okay, Ko, I know how hungry you get after teaching so much," Samba said, smiling a little. He turned and entered the kitchen to start preparing a meal. He was actually halfway decent with cooking, which came as a surprise to most people.

"Alright, then," Ko said, and shifted back into Hylian as was standard for lessons. "Vardi, what are eight melee weapons that you know of?"

"Swords, staves, hammers, spears, daggers, whips, uhhmmm...oh, halberds, and gauntlets."

"Very good! Now, colors?"

Vardi opened her jaw, but then closed it, getting a thoughtful look on her face. Then, with a smirk, she said, "Rose, sunflower, mint, violet, Forget-Me-Not, umm...orange." She shrugged at that last one.

Ko chuckled. "Creative, I'll admit."

The review went on until finally Samba was finished with the cooking. As the three sat at the table and ate the Cuccoo(yes, they had them there, too), Samba thought for a moment. "Ko?" he asked.

"Yes?" Ko looked up from his poultry, raising an eyeridge. He spoke in Hylian.

Samba groaned a little at that, but pressed on, going in Hylian as well. "Well, er, how could you have known about something that happened in Kochyrae very recently this morning? I have not heard of anyone coming into town who is not a goron or lizalfos this morning. Do they come in secret?"

Ko smiled and shook his head. "Nope," he said. He dug into his bag and brought out a strange-looking blue stone. It had an eye etched into it. "This is called a Gossip Stone," he said, turning the item in his paws. "These things have been around since the days of the very first Legendary Hero, although they were much bigger and more common back then, as well as having less power than they do now. Now, they can be used to speak with someone from far away by magic. However, these are exceedingly rare stones, so please don't tell anyone about this," he said, pocketing it again. "I use that to keep in touch with my human adventurer friend in Kochyrae. Well, actually, Ybayba Enapu, the ranch town, but he is staying at Kochyrae for the time being since he was injured last night. In the same battle that the person he mentioned got the item he was seeking, no less," he added.

Samba raised an eyebrow. "Who's this person who got the item?" he asked.

Ko shook his head. "Cannot say. He didn't tell me his name."

Samba's face fell. "Awww...he sounded like a great fighter that I could have fun sparring with..." he murmured dissapointedly, and the other two laughed.

Vardi tilted her head, then asked, "Ko? Why do you have a human friend? HOW do you have a human friend?"

Ko smiled. "Well," he began, but a knock at the door interrupted him.

Samba rose and walked over to it. He opened it and saw nobody at first. "Down here, blue boy," said a young girl's voice. Samba looked down and raised his eyeridges. A young female lizalfos was standing there, wearing a small white tanktop and a grey miniskirt. She had a light brown stripe on her muzzle. She appeared a little unhappy.

"Rakeh? What brings you here at this hour?" asked the blue lizard in a surprised tone, using his native tounge.

Rakeh ignored him and shoved aside him into his home. She went straight for Vardi, who hopped down from her seat to face her. "Rakeh-kor? What's wrong?" she asked.

Rakeh frowned sharply, looking distressed. "Vardi, you know my father, right?" she asked.

Vardi nodded slowly. "Yeeaah," she answered. "Why, is something wrong?"

Rakeh nodded a couple times. "He...He...He..." She started hiccuping as tears threatened to pour down her cheeks.

Vardi brought her eyeridges together and placed a teal paw on the other girl's shoulder. "Calm down, Rakeh-kor. Take a deep breath and tell me," she said soothingly. ("-kor" : lizalfos :: "-chan" : Japanese.)

Rakeh's eyes released a few tears and she brought the hem of her shirt up to wipe them. "Some of the chief's henchmen came in and told him he was to go to the Empty Cavern because he started a fight this afternoon at work at the potion mixing vats because he was being careless!" she whined.

Everyone gasped. "Did he really?" asked Ko at the same time Vardi asked, "No joke?" Rakeh nodded as Vardi shot a look at her teacher. Regardless, Rakeh nodded.

"Yes; he came home this evening looking a little worried," she said. "He told us he got mad at someone because they spilled an entire vat of hot potion, and on his leg, too. He was yelled at and was told that he'd receive a punishment. It's just...he didn't expect-none of us did-that THAT would happen!" She whimpered a bit. "He's got to stay there until he brings back a valuable scroll..." She cried fully then.

The boys were quiet as Rakeh was comforted by Vardi. During this, Samba explained to Ko that Rakeh and Vardi were friends. Rakeh also explained that she came there because she had to tell SOMEone.

Vardi looked angry. "This is so unfair!" she cried. "They shouldn't do that to your father! We need as much potion as we can make, since it's our only export! I think a fight's in order for someone as careless as the one who spilled it, in my opinion." She sighed. "C'mon, Rakeh-kor, lemme walk you home. Your mother is probably worried."

Rakeh nodded silently and the two walked out. Vardi called over her shoulder that she'd be back in a few. "And he doesn't get any food, and nobody's allowed to take any to him," Samba and Ko heard Rakeh add before the night of the village swallowed the girls up.

Ko looked anxiously at Samba. "That's practically a death sentence!" he said. "Nobody's been able to escape the Empty Cavern alive! The influence of the creature there is so great, it creates vicious monsters of rock! They say all that can defeat them is a well-aimed attack that's brimming with flames," he muttered. "I dunno what scroll the chief would possibly want, but it's probably a wild goose chase, anyway. And without a proper food supply-the demonic creatures in there explode from the effect of the creature's influence, oddly, I hear-he's doomed!" He frowned and whined as he sat back down and poked at his fish. "Graruuuuu..."

Samba frowned sympathetically, but shrugged. "Well, there's not much anyone can do...so it's best to try not to think too much about it." He sat down as well and ate his own meal. 'But still...'

Nobody ever got around to asking Ko how he had a human friend again.

**...**

Link yawned and stretched, getting up after a good night's sleep. He clothed and equipped himself, left to find something to eat, and afterwards, went to the stream nearby the town to bathe. The morning was bright and clear of rainclouds to hamper progress. Link sighed after drying off and getting into his outfit again. 'I wonder how far it is to the castle?' he wondered as he went back into town.

He decided to ask the townsfolk around about it. They shrugged, then decided to mention some random thing or some fact about the town or about the castle. It's been guarded heavilly lately, though the guards aren't too bright...You know, this town's been around for plenty years-it was founded by the decendent of the first rancher in Hyrule to have helped the Legendary Hero. By the way, the A button is really important; it could-oh, you knew that already, didn't you?

"Hey, kid, do you have a horse?" asked one man after Link was starting to get tired of asking around. Link shook his head and explained he'd walked there. The man scoffed. "Well, no WONDER it took you a day to get from your place to ours! It'd take a fraction of the time if you had a horse! If you're thinkin' of headin' out to the castle, you'd be wise to grab one. However, I haven't heard of anyone here being willing to give one of their horses up as of late. Sorry, kid, but it looks like, fer now, you're gonna have to hoof it! Oh-hohoh!" The man slapped his knee at his own joke, but Link looked unimpressed.

The green-clad adventurer sighed and began walking around town some more, asking other people. 'I've always wanted to ride a horse,' he thought. 'Too bad nobody's willing to give me one right now.' He soon came to a man who told him, as well, that he had no clue where the castle lay.

"However, Ah CAN give you something good if you do something for mah. It's not a nugget of wisdom, but it's just as valuable, yah!" he offered, winking. He was outside a small ranch whose sty was full of...well, nothing, except a through for feed and a mud puddle. Small hoofprints could be seen around the ground.

Link was reluctant, but since he didn't think that much other people would be able to point him on his way, he decided to accept the offer.

"Okay, then, yah, why don'cha go 'round and round up mah pigs?" he asked. He sighed. "Turns out thay don't like hangin' 'rounds mah place, so thay've gone out and 'round town during tha night. Thar's only five of tham buggers that got out. Couldja please get tham for mah?" He slapped his hands into the begging position. "Ah swear, Ah'll repay yah!"

Link sighed and answered, "Sure." 'It's something to do, at least...'

The man grinned and jumped for joy. "YEEHAW! This means Ah get to get a bittle more shudeye!...Er, A-Ah mean, stay and keep an eye on mah place to make sure nona-dem others escape," he added hastily.

Link shrugged, not really caring if his client was lazy or not, and turned to go off, looking for the pigs. (He didn't hear a pounding sound behind him at the man's farm that made the farmer jump and yelp, "Oh, boy, looks like Big Bessie's up!" before motoring on inside, holding his straw hat.) He soon found one. It wore a red ribbon around its right foreleg and was pretty small and was easy to pick up, but he had to chase it first. He had to resort to tiptoeing over, then diving and grabbing it. He found the five in this manner, essentially, each time bringing them back to the farmer. One wore a blue handkerchief and was slippery, having been in the stream for a dip, and escaped Link's grip twice before finally going back into the pen. Another wore a green ribbon around its middle and had somehow gotten on top of a rooftop that Link bravely jumped across. His fourth had a yellow bow on its tail and was feisty, and he had to-with a murmured apology-hit it with his boomerang and stun it. The final one took him a good ten minutes to find. This was before he saw a small crate, much like one of the many lying around the town loose that Link took the liberty to smash and claim what goodies were inside, that had a handhole in it. This was different, since none of the others had them. Not only that, it was a little bigger, and Link swore it wasn't there before. Curious, he bent down and lifted it up. Instantly, the final pig, wearing a black headband with a symbol on the front that Link couldn't make out at that moment, squealed almost like an alarm and began to run. Link dove and grabbed it instantly, though. As he carried the pig back, he saw the number 8 was the symbol from before. "I thought he said he had only five pigs," he muttered as he walked back.

Finally, tired, he got back to the man with the headbanded pig and tossed it into the pen with its cohorts. The man jumped for joy again. "YEEEEEEHAAW! Thank yah, sir!" he said, hands clasped in front of him as if about to make a deal. "Ah was gettin' worried where mah piggies whar at. Thank yahs!"

Link pointed at the pigs in the pen. "Why do they all have something on them?" he asked.

"Wuh?" The farmer turned and looked, then smiled and nodded. "Oh-hoh, that's tha way ah keep 'em apart from otha farmahs' pigs. Ah tried lotsa stuff 'til Ah found what thay each like tah wear!" he laughed, turning back to Link. "Anywahs, let mah open tha gate so tha otha pigs can get into thar pen," he said, "and then for yah reward!"

He turned and strode over to the doors of his farm. He unlatched them and slowly pulled it open. Eight more pigs came oinking and squealing out, each wearing a differently-colored, differently-styled type of accessory. Some had headbands, some bows, others ribbons. They happilly met with the other pigs and oinked amongst each other. The man, smiling, peered inside the doors. "Hey, wheah's-Oh."

A loud series of deep THUDs sounded as Link saw, to his amazement, an enormous black pig, adorned with a great pink bow on top its head. The presence of utters underneath it meant it was a she. She barreled out into the pen, whose space it took up half of, and snorted around.

The man laughed and walked over to an astounded Link. "That thar's mah pride 'n' joy, Big Bessie," he explained, thumbing to his extravagantly girthy porker. "Sha's tha ma of many mah pigs. Sha's also gotta hide tougher 'n leather! Sha's usually gentle, too, it's just that as of late, sha's been actin' real nasty and wild. Ah'm not sure Ah should have har out, actually..." He frowned slightly. Then, both he and Link took a step back and grimaced uneasilly as they saw Bessie crouch down and wiggle her butt, facing them.

"I think you're right," Link agreed before the two ran out of the way of the flying pig.

Many people around the area stopped to look at this spectacle. One man, who sounded like the lazy-voiced man from the night before, simply said, "Pay up," as he smirked and held his hand out. The guy next to him, grumbling in the voice of the lazy-voiced man's companion, got out a couple red rupees and gave them to the other man. Link and the farmer, meanwhile, stumbled away, turning around to face the enormous swine. "B-BESSIE! WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YAH?" the farmer cried angstly. He gulped as soon as her eyes started to glow red.

Link narrowed his eyes and knew what had to do. He got out his sword and sheild in one fluid motion, locking onto the pig with his eyes. "She's got a hide tougher than leather, right? She should be fine," he told the farmer before he could protest. Then, facing this new threat, he began the fight. (The farmer and everyone else got out of the way.)

First, he saw the pig try and charge him. He dodged, rolling aside, and the people screamed as Bessie skidded towards them, but they couldn't escape from how dense they were packed. Thankfully, Bessie never hit them and turned, quite fast for a pig that size, and, big pink bow streaming its ends behind her, charged again. Link avoided her, then saw her, after she turned around again, crouch down to jump again. He stopped, having a feeling he knew what to do, and then ran for his life as soon as she leaped up. She went higher this time, trying to body slam Link, and landed spread-eagled on the ground, sending a short-range shockwave of dust. Link wasn't good at jumping, so he was hit with it, finding it actually hurt a bit. He was barely in range, though-it ended a few feet from around her body.

Link noticed she couldn't get up immediately. He also noticed something wrong with her...Now that she was still for a second, he and some people suppressed or let out a giggle. Something was faintly pulsing from her rectum. Then, after shuddering at what horrors may lay in store for him, Link noticed that Bessie had gotten up again.

After a couple rounds, Link found that she was only smart enough to charge and body slam him. He hesitated in attacking her butt the next body slam, and so still was nil to one in the hits score. He decided to take a chance the next charge. He dove out of the way, rolled, got up, and charged himself. Bessie, who had skidded and now turned about to face Link again, found a sword coming for her face.

"NNOOOOO! NOT IN THA FACE, YAH!" cried the farmer suddenly, causing Link to lose his focus for a second-and consequentially get charged, feeling a -LOT- of pain. As he grumbled and growled getting up, looking at the farmer, the farmer said, "Please, sha's still mah pig...can't yah find anotha way?"

Link frowned, but then got an idea, thinking about the other pig who tried fighting him. "That's it!" He put his sword and sheild back to pull out his boomerang, then faced Bessie. She was currently charging at him again. Link targeted her face, then let fly. He dove afterwards in case it missed. When he got up again, he reached and grabbed his weapon, finding it made no difference. He grimaced and dodged another charge. However, upon trying again as soon as she got up and was ABOUT to charge, he found it worked, and a deep squeal was heard. Some people squacked, others laughed, others went, "EEEWWWWWW!" as something happened behind Bessie. The pig, promptly, shook her head, then tried another body slam on Link.

Link evaded it, even the shockwave, and ended up on her rear side. He then saw what was pulsating before: A (strangly) clean, clear red gem was sticking out of her poor butt, probably causing enough pain to make anyone go crazy. Link got the feeling it wasn't natural and decided to try and strike it with his sword. He jumped to attack and barely hit it before Bessie was up and starting to turn around. As soon as he'd hit it, it shattered and the glow stopped.

As well, Bessie's eyes stopped glowing and she stopped. After a second's blinking, she looked around, sniffing, then turned back to the pen and trundled off. She leaped back in and that was that as far as she appeared to be concerned. The crowd cheered and jumped for joy at all this. The farmer, in tears, ran over to Link. "Oh, THANK yah, THANK YAH, sir!" he said, clasping Link's hand. (Link had put away his sword and shield after Bessie went off.) "I jus' can't believe yah saved har! Yah know, Ah was wonderin' what that glowing up har backcountry was...Thanks again!" He smiled and pulled something out of his pocket, the item magically expanding as it did. "Heah's yah reward, which yah've more'n earned!" he said.

Link took it. It looked like a Heart Container, but empty save for a smaller red heart inside. "What is it?" he asked.

"What IS-? Yah, that there's a Piece O' Heart!" the farmer said, looking surprised Link didn't know what it was. "It's s'posed to be helpful to adventurin' types! Ah hear yah just use it like a normal heart or somethin', but Ah don't really know what people mean bah that, 'cuz Ah've never set foot outta thas town in mah life. Anyway, thanks again!" he said before turning to leave.

Link nodded, then let the Piece of Heart absorb like other hearts. He felt his strength return, but not more, like when the Heart Container absorbed into him. 'I should probably keep track of how many I've got with me, though,' he thought. He shrugged, then turned and went to the tavern again, wondering if he should try there for some information. He ended up wondering right, and even found a nice person who told him about a mapmaking man who sold maps of different places around the land.

Link found and visited the man. His shop was called simply "Kwilliam's". Link shrugged and entered, then gasped as he saw who was at the counter.

"Well, if it isn't blondie!" said the man, smirking and crossing his arms. He had a pipe in his mouth, but it was only decoration; it was unlit. Link smiled and walked over to him as the man leaned on the counter, arms still crossed. He wore a red apron with many black stains on it and had an ink pen behind his ear. "What's up? Wanna buy a map?" he asked.

Link nodded. "Yes, I would," he said. "I want a map of the route from here to Hyrule Castle, and of the town surrounding it, please."

The man nodded, smiling. "Awright, then, blondie," he said, and turned. "I've got a few maps already done that I'll sell to you at a reduced price, but just 'cuz I like you. And the name's Kwilliam." He turned and got a couple sheets of parchment out and put them on the counter.

"I'm Link," Link introduced. "And this comes to...?"

"Uhmm...let's see, the route map costs 40, the map of Hyrule Castle Town costs 120 since it's so ultra-detailed, and so both together cost 160 rupees," he said, looking up as he counted in his head. Link gawked. He couldn't even carry that much! Kwilliam laughed and shook his head, though. "That's without the discount I'm going to give you! How's about...aw, what the heck, 20 off? That way, it only costs...kay, 160 times 20 equals 3200, divided by 100 equals...32 rupees? Yeah, so it'd cost, together, for you, 128 rupees."

Link's face fell. "I don't even have a hundred...I'll have to go without the map of Castle Town..." He shrugged. 'I'm going to get more lost there than I got here, but OH, WELL...-.-;'

Kwilliam's face fell a little, too, at the prospect of making less money right now, but nonetheless removed the Castle Town map from the counter. "That means you only need pay 36 rupees, if my math's correct."

Link paid up and got the map. He brought out his grand map to stick the minimap on there. When he did, Kwilliam gasped.

"Th-That map!" he cried, pointing a calloused finger at it. "That's...That...it's empty! What a crime!" He then closed his jaw, bring his arms together as he thought. "But, then, you probably could never afford any full map of Hyrule that size that I could make, and I'd probably face an early retirement from breaking my wrist if I even tried making it. So I guess it's wise. Where'd you find it?"

"A room in the Forest of Peril," Link said, and explained in breif where it was and the room he found it in.

Kwilliam raised his eyebrows. "You know, my grand-uncle Skevin went to live in that forest after he went senile. He must have somehow gotten on that place's good side and made a home for himself there. At least he didn't go off convinced he was a fairy like one of my ancestors supposedly did a few times." He shrugged and let Link put it away. "Well, I hope my map serves you well! I've got some other maps availible, but not ones I'd consider good enough to let you have for cheaper than others but still of good quality. Come back when I sketch s'more! Have fun, blondie!" He waved, and Link waved back, then left. Kwilliam sighed. "What a nice kid."

Link stepped out and stretched. "Well," he said, "I'd better get going." Since it was still morning, he wasn't hungry for lunch yet. Regardless, he spent the last of his rupees on some food he'd bring with for when he did, then left out the northwestern gate to Hyrule Field. There he walked along the path, experiencing a few encounters with wild and crazed beasts and monsters, including more rocs and moblins. After finding that many dropped valuable prizes such as hearts or, even better, rupees, he decided to take the time to slay any creature that dared oppose him. He took frequent rests, since he was going all on foot, and found that night had reached him while he was in the center of one of the vastest sections of Hyrule Field. So, after a half hour's search around, Link went and camped out in an empty cave for the night. (An actual cave, not a mini-dungeon.)

**...**

Samba woke up and looked around him. He was home, and it was dawn. He sighed and got up, getting dressed and getting his fishing rod. 'Must have been a dream,' he thought, and flashed back to where he had thought he was the moment before.

He thought he had just been inside a castle, defeating human guards left and right with his real, edged sword. Nobody stood a chance against him. Then, he'd entered a room where a ring sat on a pedestal. When he got there, though, a shadow stepped forth, drawing a sword. He growled and got into position, ready to fight, when he woke up.

'Oh, well,' he shrugged, jogging along the perimeter of the lake as he went to work. 'I would have liked to have seen how good he was, though.'

On the boat, the foreman nodded in aknowledgement of his state of nontruancy. "Good job getting here on time, Samba," he said. "Now, then, before we shove off, I want to tell you something before you youngn's all have to leave tomorrow, but specifically you, Samba." Samba raised an eyeridge. The foreman crossed his arms, tail twitching a little in the cold water as it trailed from the boat. "You've been a troublesome kid, but I think you'd best take your fishing rod. All of you, take your fishing rods. You really have no idea how valuable it is to be able to get your own food easilly. You'll be happy about it if you make camp nearby a stream on your way to the castle at all." He bent down and reached into a box, then brought out a clawful of tiny wooden fish. He tossed one to each crewmate, with Samba's he just handed over since the blue reptile was right in front of him. "There, a good lure that's known to attract a wide variety of fish outside of the village," the foreman said. "Keep it with you and put it on your rods when you're done working. Keep your old lure on when fishing here, in this mountain lake."

Everyone nodded and stuck the lures somewhere. Samba stuffed his in his side bag. The day's fishing began once the time came to shove off. Samba, upon being asked, offered to fish up another person's quota for the day since they weren't here, and so had to fish up another 3 more fish to the boat in addition to his normal quota. He did, though, without complaint, since he actually liked to fish.

Later on, when he was done with work and had recieved his pay for the last time, Samba went and entered his house to get some lunch. While there, he exchanged lures on his pole. He then decided to dismantle it. It looked like a normal bobber fishing rod, but was actually collapseable for easy storage. It was a thin pole of bamboo that grew by a lake some ways away from the village's cove, separated into three pieced that screwed together. Samba himself had made it, with painstaking effort in regards to the threads of the screw parts. It was sturdy, though, and worked well throughout the two years of his job as fisherman. After putting the pole into his bag, Samba cooked his lunch of, as usual, fish. (Thankfully, he didn't mind fish, which was a very common thing in that village.)

He knew Vardi would be home soon, so he cooked two. Sure enough, Vardi came home just as Samba was done cooking. "How was your friend?" Samba asked after serving her. (She'd slept over that night, only returning home for her blanket and pillow and to inform her brother of when she'd be home.)

Vardi sighed and poked at her food. "She's still really sad," she said. "And worried. I am, too. I really feel bad for her." After a pause, she said, "She said that her and her mom would go out and try bringing food to him tonight."

Samba raised his eyeridges. "Really? But isn't that practically suicide with how I hear that place is?"

Vardi nodded. "Yeah...Her even telling me about it made me feel scared. I'd really love to help, but..."

Samb put his fork down to look admonishingly at his sister. "Mother said to look after you. And that's what I'm going to do. So don't even THINK about leaving to go there tonight, please!" he said.

Vardi looked a little pouty. "Well, DUH, I'm not gonna," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in Hyrule. "It's way too dangerous."

Samba nodded and resumed eating. "That's good. Thanks."

That afternoon, Ko came over and continued to teach them more Hylian. He was adamant against the idea of anyone going in to even help someone out in the Empty Cavern. "It's a death trap set by nature, that's what it is," he said. "Anyone who even thinks of going in there is insane. There's traps in there, beasts, and who knows what other horrors untold."

The day passed with a sense of quiet, despite the constant talking in Hylian. Samba looked at Ko and Vardi. They seemed to look at him worriedly. 'This is the last they'll probably see of me,' Samba thought, and finally, the implication of what he was going to be forced to do dawned upon him. 'I'm...I'm never going to come back home...ever...' He shook his head, deciding to not think about that. 'Task at hand, task at hand...If I ever stop thinking about the task at hand, I'll do something stupid or go nuts, I swear it...'

But that night, before Ko had to leave, he and Vardi each looked at Samba and gave soft smiles. "Well," Ko said, "I guess this is goodbye, huh, Samba?"

Samba nodded. "...Yeah." He looked away a bit.

Ko brought his eyeridges together as he smiled. "I asked the guys in charge for me to stay here, and said I would only hinder the group, so I'm not coming. I'm going to really miss you, Samba. You're so intelligent-more than you think-and strong, and gifted with many things. But the most important thing is..." He hesitated for the slightest of moments. "...your heart, because without it, you won't be able to know what to do. I know you try to have a single-track mind, but take the time to listen to your heart. And take the time to make sure your heart stays the way you want it to be. However, preferably, I'd like to ask that you try to keep it as bright as you can." He paused, then smiled and said, "Well, uhm...I'm not good at this...Well, goodbye, Samba," turned, and left a little hastilly.

Vardi smiled and nodded to Samba. "Just come back, okay, big brother?" she asked simply.

Samba felt a pang of regret as he looked and smiled down at his sister. "I will," he lied. "I will."

"Promise to look after Mom?"

"Promise."

"'K!"

And the rest of the night was dinner, then bed.


	4. The Empty Cavern

Samba grunted in pain as the swordsman struck him across his scaly swordarm, realizing he'd have to try harder. Instead of defaulting to his race's wait-for-an-opening-then-haymaker fashion that usually got them killed by skilled swordsmen, he decided to go the extra mile and do a wait-for-an-opening-then-strike-fast fashion of battle that the other one was using. They circled each other, waiting. Waiting. Then, without warning, both decided to just go for it. They raced to clash, swords raised. Suddenly, a female voice cried out in Hylian.

Samba gasped and opened his eyes, sweating. One thing came out of his whispering lips: "Vardi...!"

He jumped out of bed, still dressed in his clothes since he had been too tired to change out, and raced to Vardi's room. He noticed that it was still night.

_BANGBANGBANG!_ "Vardi! Are you in there? VARDI!" he cried, scared for a reason his waking mind still had to grasp.

Nobody was there.

He gulped and took a look outside. It was still very dark, and not another light in the village was visible. He gaped as he realized why he was scared.

_SLAM!_ He raced into Vardi's room. There was a bed and a crude dresser inside, as well as a rag doll of a lizalfos on the floor. No Vardi. There was a note, though, pinned to the doll. It was written in Hylian.

"I just don't feel right letting Rakeh and her mother go alone to try and feed her father. Don't worry or get mad, alright?" was all it said.

He stood, reading the note and holding the doll before it slowly dropped from his paw. "She...She..." He growled and swore, running to grab his practice sword, square buckler, belt, scabbard, bag of throwing pebbles, and side bag. "I canNOT believe it...she left anyway, the little liar!" he grumbled, worried sick and annoyed beyond belief simultaneously. He also thought about grabbing a torch, but decided not to, and let his night vision kick in for him. When at last he was ready, which meant grabbing a quick midnight snack of a loaf of bread, he stepped outside his house and into the dark village.

'Okay,' he thought, looking to his left and right as he walked to the walkway around the lake, 'where is that cavern...?' He then got an idea where, looking to the far end of the lake that ended in a subterranean river. The village stopped at a pretty sharp, high stone wall that had some flat areas, but not wide enough ones to build houses on. He nodded as he saw the crevace the river went through. 'In there somewhere...' He scampered off to the end of the village.

When he got there, he found he had to use his jumping and climbing skills to scale the myriad, randomly-placed flat areas of stone to the crevace. He managed it, though, and found that it entered about ten feet above the river. There were a few more "shelves" of rock jutting out to supply footing, so he was able to travel along.

As he went, his night vision reached full strength and he saw, just in time, some cave spiders jumping out at him. With a startled reptilian squeak, he raised his buckler in time and counterattacked. When the thing was about dead, he saw that there was another one a little away from him. With a sharp grin, he punted the weakened arachnid into the other one. Both collided and careened off the edge into the river below. "Die, you freaky bugs," Samba crowed quietly before continuing onwards. He had to jump across the river at some points, which frightened him a bit. Once, too, he had to reach some ivy hanging off a far edge. However, he saw there was a group of cave spiders spaced about the ivy. He took them each down with well-aimed bullet-like pebble throws.

At last, he began to see torchlight. "What...? Torches?" he wondered aloud softly, climbing a ledge. He continued on towards the light, which wasn't that much farther. He soon reached a long, broad ledge that led up to a single torch. It was by the entrance to an enormous cavern. Samba stopped in front of it and gulped as he felt a rumble as soon as he got near it. "The...The Empty Cavern," he whispered. He thought of Vardi. 'Mother trusted me to protect her...Nobody's gotten out of here alive...' He frowned determinedly and nodded. "...But I guess I'm going to have to try and make sure she's the first!" he declared, and with that, he charged into the cave.

_._

As he entered, he discovered that the cavern wasn't empty, as the name implied. There were huge, purplish-blue, bioluminescent mushrooms along the brownish stone wall, providing light for the lizalfos. He saw that he was in a wide room with a few cave spiders crawling over to attack. He dispatched them easily, then found that there was a door of sorts in front of him. It was merely a circular slab of reddish-brown rock, it seemed, but when he pushed on it, it budged a little. He saw that there were enough protrusions on the side that he could roll it. He tried rolling it one way, but found it hit a wall soon inside, not providing much more than a foot-wide gap. The other way was difficult, since he saw it was a slight slope. So, rolling it the first way a ways, he grunted and thrust the stone the other way, rolling it up the slope easily. It cleared the space, and he dashed through before it came back, grabbing his tail moments before it was crushed.

He looked in front of him to the current room and gazed all around. It was huge, and had a bit of a gap separating him and a larger ledge, which had an ENORMOUS mushroom in its center. There was a ladder leading down to his broad ledge, which was a little higher up than the other one. He saw, with more huge mushrooms lighting the way, three doorways apart from the one he had just come through. One, down to his left in the gap, was locked, apparantly, since there was an X of iron chains holding a padlock in the middle. Another, to his left on the ledge he was on, was locked, too, or more barred; a few stalagmites obscured it. A third, dead ahead of him on the lower ledge, was perfectly clear of obstacles. He looked and saw that there were, indeed, torches, two of them; but they were unlit. Dry tinder lay within them, ready to be lit by nothing more than a spark. These were around the one that was blocked by rocks.

After pausing to wonder at this, he was alerted to the sound of skittering. He looked down at the bigger ledge below and saw something moving. Before jumping down, he glanced up and noticed that there was another level to this room. Above, room-wide rock shelves to his left and right were connected by two bridges of stone, BIG stones that laid across like fallen logs. He couldn't see much more than that, but he decided that he should make his way to the ledge below to see if someone was there. He jumped down and landed, looking around. "Hello? Is somone here? Vardi?" he called.

Suddenly, he was slammed by something to the side, sending him sailing down to the ground. He grunted and got up, looking at what it was that did it. It was a helmasaur, whose front end had met his thigh in a flying hello. "Oh, just one of you things," he growled, standing up. "Alright, then-c'mere," he coaxed, jumping back a little bit while wiggling his shield. "C'meeere!"

The helmasaur took a few steps back before, with a warsqueal, it charged at Samba. Samba sidestepped at the last second, shouting, "OLE!" before quickly turning around and leaping at the creature still running towards the wall. With a roar, he slammed a two-pawed sword strike into its flesh before attacking it normally. When he had finished it off, it let out a dying squeal as it fell to its side. Samba sighed and shook his head as he turned to the unlocked door. "Well, let's go," he said, and ran to it. He opened it the same way as before, dashing in and clutching his tail back before it got run over.

He found he was inside a corridor that curved off ahead. Instead of torches, there were, again, big mushrooms lining the walls. He was impressed at the wonders of nature as he walked along. He found that, as he went ahead and right around the bend, there was a crossroads. He could go left or right. To his right was a pile of rocks barring his way. Hoping that it wasn't recent, he turned left. He found a ladder going down, so he went down. As he slid down the sides, he found that it was broken at the bottom. Across from him when he reached the bottom was the broken-off piece. He jumped between the ladders and continued to slide down. He landed on the bottom eventually and found another door to the right of him.

After running through it, he found that he was precariously nearby a pit of stalagmite spikes. He was on a ledge inside a carved hole in the wall and found himself inside a fairly large room covered with stalagmites on the bottom. He also found a few flat rocks hanging from the ceiling at different levels by thick chains. "Who would build these and why?" he muttered. "Nobody's going in here..." He stepped to the edge and looked around to see if there was any way he could get across. He saw a strange, silver, eye-like thing embedded in the wall. It was so peculiar, he decided to see what would happen if he threw a pebble at it. As soon as it hit, the eye shut itself and a click was heard.

Suddenly, a stone platform that was hanging from the ceiling right above him lowered down to him. Raising his eyeridges, he jumped onto it. It was a little wobbly, but he could stay on. He then noticed that a platform that was out of reach for his jumping ability to his right was now nearer to the ceiling, underneath a ledge that it hung from. He looked at his platform and it before he nodded. He aimed at the silver eye and threw another pebble. It hit and he heard another click while the eye opened. The two platforms moved-his and the one to his right. He waited until the platform he was on stopped, hoping he wasn't about to get crushed. He didn't, though, and he found that there was no way for him to jump down to the platform that had just lowered, since the ledge it hung from-which had four holes in it to allow the chains that disappeared into the darkness above to go through-was right over where it was and was level with his platform while it was raised. He put a paw on his chin. "It's a puzzle," he muttered. "Vardi could figure this one out, but how she would have the means to fire an arrow or something into that eye, I don't know..." He decided to try something.

He hit the eye switch again and turned to the right while his platform began to lower again. While it lowered, he jumped over to the raising platform as soon as he had cleared the ledge. He grunted as he landed on it from a bit high. He looked up and saw there was no entrance above him on the wall he was nearby. He gulped as the ledge came closer and closer. "Oh, crap, no, NO!" He hit the deck and squeezed his eyes shut.

Suddenly, the platform stopped rising. He opened his eyes and looked around. He had standing room. He wasn't in any danger of being crushed. "I can't take any risks, though," he muttered as he stood and fired at the switch again. He went down, the first platform went up, and he saw a hole open from below as he went down, making him smile. "Finally, after four pebbles," he said, stepping off. He opened the door and ran in.

After the door shut behind him, he jumped back as the floor below him rumbled. He jumped back just in time, too, as some thin stalagmites shot up from the floor and blocked the door. "Shit!" He turned and looked at the room he was inside. It was cylindrical and appeared to go up with a spiraling ledge. The ledge was broken, though, as some parts of the spiral were higher up. In fact, every half circle was higher up than the other. He could jump up to them from the bottom of each, he estimated, using his powerful legs. He looked in the center of the spiral. There was a plant there, of all places.

"Huh?" he muttered as he walked over to it. Suddenly, it sprang up and grabbed him in its teeth. He grunted and fought to escape. He managed to push the deku baba's head away and execute a good combo on it. The third attack in his combo, a kick, stunned it straight up and the fourth "decapitated" it. As the monster withered away, he noticed that there were more on the ledges. "I'll have to make my way up this room, destroying the deku babas, to see how I can get out," he realized. With a nod, he ran to the beginning of the spiralling ramp.

He faced another baba at the middle of the ramp. He stopped before it snapped out at him and blocked it with his buckler. He blocked it again when it snapped at him and immediately executed another combo. As soon as its head was separated from its stalk, he continued on. He jumped and grabbed the edge above him when he reached the end of the ramp, pulling himself up and onto it before continuing.

He had to repeat this process four more times before he got to the top. With five ledges behind him now, he found the final baba and defeated it, watching its head fly down, down, down the center of the spiral. He hooded his eyes with his left paw and whistled. "That's a LOOOOONG way down," he muttered. "I'd better not fall..." He heard a crumbling sound from the direction of the door. "I think I did it!" he said joyfully. He looked to see if there was anything at the top ledge here. He saw that there was: A large niche to his left was in the middle of the ledge, in the wall (the ramps had wound upwards in a clockwise direction), held a large chest.

He approached it and, finding no lock, decided to see what's inside. He lifted the lid, a flash of light emitting from inside as he did. He shied away from the light for a moment, holding a paw up to his eyes while it glared, waiting for it to fade. It did, and he pushed the lid up the rest of the way. Leaning inside, he picked up whatever was inside with both paws, tail lashing as he wondered what it would be. He stood straight again, smiling at what he had gotten in his paws before turning around and holding it up.

"A MAP!" he cried in joy. "Now I can find out just where the heck I am in this place...I think..."

**Quick note: **Hey! Listen! _I've got the map of this dungeon for your viewing pleasure!_ (Well, a pretty basic version, but it's better than nothing!) You can find it at (spaces and final period ignored): **ferretrip . deviantart . com / # / d2vin9p** . Read the two lists of notes there, and remember to hit "download" to pull up the actual pic in full view. It's mighty huge. I hope this makes the dungeon easier!

He studied the map and found that there were four floors to this dungeon. Right now, he was on 1F. Below him, at the bottom of the spiral, was BF1. He was about to continue back downstairs when he noticed something else in the niche. A lunchbox-sized rectangular right prism-shaped stone stood on a pedestal in a part that was hidden behind the wall of the main room. He tilted his head in curiosity as he went to it. After looking around and determining that there couldn't be any traps, he took the block. He tilted it around in his paws and found that it was pretty normal. "...Wait," he muttered as he was about to put it back. He looked again. "These edges are worn." The stone wasn't exactly a regular polyhedron-it was deeper than it was tall and shallower than it was wide when Samba looked at it from the biggest side that faced out when he had taken it from the pedestal. The edges around the part that formed the depth were the worn ones.

'This must be for another puzzle,' he thought. He took it with him, carrying it over his head for some reason as he went on. Maybe he felt more macho that way-who knows. He made his way-going, "Whee! Whee! Whee!" as he jumped from level to level-back down the spiral until he reached the bottom. He found no slot for the block when he went to the door, which had been, indeed, unlocked, he wrapped his tail around it to hold while he opened the door and ran through. He got to the ledge and found the platform was still lowered. He jumped on, set the block down, flipped the switch, and picked the block up again. He jumped over to the one that went down and noticed that, in the distance ahead of him, another platform lowered down as well. He also noticed another, higher-up eye switch to the left of the one he'd been using. A rock jutted from the wall to its left when he faced it from the room's first entrance. He kept these in mind. After hitting the first switch, he looked onto the ledge and found what he'd thought he'd seen before.

Three holes were in the wall: A rectangular one, a triangular one, and a hexagonagal one. He jumped over to it and decided to put his rock inside its appropriate slot. It slid in and fit perfectly. He smiled and turned around. "I think I've got a puzzle on my paws," he said. "I don't know what for, but I need to do it, since I don't think there's any other way to go on..." He got back on the one that was raised and looked around at the platforms and looked at his map. There were two floors to the room he currently inhabited: 1F and B1F. After orienting himself, he found he was on 1F and that there was a door on the same wall as he had originally entered the room from alllll the way at the far end of the room, the top on the map. He wondered if that was north, but he wasn't quite sure down here. 'I need a compass or something,' he thought.

He decided to try and hit the second eye switch first. This one was on 1F, the second on B1F. He hit it and observed three platforms in the left-paw side of the room to him moved. The closest platform to him (looking down on the map, which showed the platforms on both levels) moved up to 1F, the second-closest stayed, the second-farthest moved down to B1F, and the farthest-which was in front of a door-moved up to 1F. "How the hell they have done this all is beyond me," he muttered, crossing his scaly arms before he heard flapping. He looked up and saw that four keese, which had been hanging from the bottom of the farthest platform and had been disturbed, were screeching towards him. He grumbled and fought them. He had a little trouble, though, since one went behind him while he dealt with another. It rammed him and pushed him towards the edge of his platform.

With a frightened "REEH!", Samba grabbed the edge of the platform with his left paw before he slid off, digging his claws in as much as he could (and wincing at the feeling of scratching stone). He quickly hoisted himself up onto the platform, which had tipped a little on his side. He pulled himself up chin-up style because he's macho like that and slashed the keese who had hit him, the one he SWORE was laughing at him. "I think I know why nobody's made it out of here alive, now," he muttered. He dealt with the remaining two before he decided to get across the newly-raised path for him.

He had to jump a bit precariously, since the chains on the corners of the platforms made it a bit of a squeeze, but he was able to make it to the first platform. He had to jump a bit farther than he thought he should because of the corner chains making a quick step between that platform and then next impossible. He made it, though, and found the next jump a simple one with lots of clearance. He hopped over to the niche to his left and opened the door.

He entered a corridor facing a wall. He turned left and found trouble in the form of, of all things, bokoblins. "What the-?" Samba muttered before he walked carefully over to one. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked.

Sadly, Blinese, a language spoken by both bokoblins and moblins, was a very different language than Lizalfos. The bokoblin raised its head as it heard the strange, threatening-sounding language and turned to look at Samba with its beady eyes. It shouted something as it raised its club, probably a warcry, and it scampered over to Samba.

Samba raised his eyeridges at this before narrowing them and getting into stance. "Well, I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry," he said. "We may both be monstrous, but I guess one can't avoid opposition all the time..." The two did combat for a few moments, Samba's swordsmanship, big feet, and strong tail getting the better of the beast. He shook his head after he defeated it and was about to sheathe his sword when he found that there were two others. He dealt with first one, then both of them. After the corridor was cleared, he found it wasn't a corridor anymore.

He was still on a stout path as wide as the corridor, but he was now on the second half. He discovered a big room in front of him. Facing the southern(?) end, he found that the ledge ended a bit away from protruding, rounded, smooth rock that, according to his map, roofed another room that went below this one. He heard deep grunting below and couldn't help gulping. "I'll deal with that one later," he muttered. He looked to the long edge of the rectangular ledge. His eyeridges went up again as he saw a series of small, tall pillars of stone. They were rounded and resembled tall stepping stones. They were all over the room. The first set, the one in front of him, was of only three in a straight line, spaced moderately from each other. He noticed there was a stone ledge below them that led back to his ledge, complete with a ladder. 'Good, if I'm rusty, I'll have a bit of a safety net,' he thought.

The stepping stones led to a big, square stone that rose from the darkness below, from which all of the other stone stepping stones came. 'Who knows how deep that pit is?' Samba gulped. He shook his head. 'I have to keep looking for Vardi. She's in here somewhere...I haven't heard her or smelled her yet, though...' He shook his head and went the only way he could: forwards. After jumping off of the edge, he landed one footpaw on the stepping stone. He didn't have long to stay, though, or else his balance would fail him from his momentum. So, quickly, just about as soon as he had landed, he jumped again to the next stone, landing on his other footpaw. He hopped along the path, using his race's knack for jumping, especially for hopping from one foot to the other.

He, like other lizalfos, tended to make short, quick hops ahead in a dash when he found some prey, though this drained him a little bit if he dashed too much. He also tended to hop between his footpaws when in a combative stance. With so much hopping from one foot to the other, it's not difficult to understand that lizalfos are excellent at hopping across small stepping stones quickly. In fact, the only normal entrance to the village was a cave that bore a deep pool, over which were more of the stepping stone pillars like he saw now. This was the only way across. If one fell into the pool, not only was it unpleasant, it was also impossible to get up on the side of the village. (They had carved a ladder into the wall of the exit's ledge, though. This was done after many people coming in and out complained about the stench and cries of the people, dead or alive, who had fallen in.)

Right now, though, he faced a challenge. He discovered that there were four more platforms to go, three around the perimeter of the room and one in the center, which had a wall facing him and the right wall, directly across from the platform that he went do next after hopping across a curving set of stones. He had to hop right to the side at the end to reach this next platform. He noticed that there was a strange white crystal sculpture embedded in the floor that reached up to half his height. It was carved into the shape of a flame, and appeared to be filled with light grey...something. He tilted his head curiously. 'I think I remember Ko saying something about there being some crystal sculptures scattered about Hyrule that activated something when you hit them,' he thought. 'I wonder...' He struck it with his practice sword. It bounced off, but the light or whatever inside lit up blue for a moment before turning back to grey. He looked around. Nothing. He shrugged and looked at the next set of stones ahead of him.

Six stones, arranged in a backwards Z, stretched from his platform to the next. They were more irregularly spaced, and he had to deal with the risk of falling if he didn't react in time. He had only at most a second to react before it was too late and his momentum carried him ahead. He made it to the platform, though, finding that there was a helmasaur for him to deal with. He dodged just in time to avoid being knocked off right after he landed on the ledge. The helmasaur tried to brake after finding it had missed its target, but as it did, it slid off the edge and into the depths. Samba couldn't help but laugh in surprise and humor at how the creature, probably surprised, itself, made no sound as it disappeared off of the ledge. He sighed and continued on to the next platform, nestled in a corner of the room and holding the entrance to another room. The door was barred by stalagmites, though, and he wondered if the switch opened it. He shrugged and hopped across the straight path with only one kink in it.

He found that he had one more path to go across before he reached the platform. It went from the corner of his square ledge into a double 90-degree "S"-like arrangement of four stones spaced far apart from each other. He could hop them easily, though, and he cheered as he made it, pumping his arms. "That was WAY more fun than anything around the village!" he shouted. He then remembered he's supposed to be looking for Vardi and sighed. "Well, at least this place isn't ALL that bad, I guess." He looked at the platform he was on and found that there was one thing taking up all of the space on this ledge: another pedestal carrying a shaped rock. This time, it was a long triangular prism-shaped rock. "A keystone!" he declared triumphantly.

He put his sword away and picked it up off of the pedestal, holding it over his head. He noticed that this time, as he took the keystone, the pedestal began to slowly lower into the platform. He squeaked and ran to the stepping stones. He was able to jump across them even while holding a big rock over his head. (His holding position helped keep his balance here, since the extra weight was centered.) As soon as he reached the next platform, he turned to see what would happen to him.

The pedestal finished sinking into the platform with an echoing THUD. He gasped as he watched a chest suddenly materialize on the spot the pedestal had been. He blinked a moment before setting down the keystone on the platform he was on, since he had no real room on the one in the middle, and hopping back to the other platform. He was too busy to hear the flapping sounds that had begun around him.

After opening the chest, he smiled and pulled out a compass. "This ought to help," he said. He gasped as, suddenly, the map and compass he found glowed breifly. When it faded, he discovered that there were now special markings on the map. There was now a compass drawn onto the map, and, indeed, the wall from which the sloped roof rock he saw before was the southern wall. He smirked and put the items away in his side bag. 'Gotta love magic,' he mused. Then, he noticed that there was a keese right in front of him. "YIPE!" He raised his buckler before it charged and watched, blinking, as it suddenly fell, fluttering feebly, down below. "I think I know why they call this place the 'Empty' Cavern," he muttered as he looked up again, seeing that this was his chance to get to the other platform and taking it. "That's what everyone's heads are in here!" He chuckled a moment before getting back to fighting.

He had to fight off waves of five keese, the waves separated by the platforms, but he eventually made it to the end with his keystone. Scampering down the corridor, he put the stone prism in his tail and opened the door, dashing out before the final wave came at him. He breathed a sigh of relief, out of the annoyance that is keese. He jumped back onto the hanging platform and made his way back to the keystone slots. With a triumphant grunt, he shoved the stone into its slot. He then turned and referred back to his map.

"The next stone's in a big...uh...woah..." He saw a room that spanned all four floors: B1F, 1F, 2F, and 3F, where it had the esteemed honor of being the only room on that floor. It contained a meandering path that confused his eyes as he followed its route up, down, and around the floors. At the end of it, on the fourth floor in the southeastern corner, was the hexagon keystone. He grumbled and shook his head. "I'll get to that later," he said, putting the map away. "I don't have time to get all confused like that."

He decided to hop back to the platform he started on and lower it to get to the room below, desiring to explore the area. He tossed a pebble at the second switch after he got around to a spot where he could hit it because of the stone jutting out on its left side (the northern side). He held onto a chain as the elevator lowered him down. He saw the entrance to the room he was reluctant to enter across from him when he reached the basement floor again. He ignored it and turned to face his new challange.

Upon reentering the room he had just left two minutes ago from a different location, he found another corridor like before. He turned left and found nobody around, and that torches lit the path instead of the large mushrooms he had become used to. Puzzled, he cautiously continued onwards. The floor, he found, was made of marble, for some reason. It was different to feel smooth marble instead of the tannish rocks he had become used to seeing all over the place. (Well, alright, the hanging platforms were grey, but what's the difference? They're all normal, everyday rocks, to him.)

Upon rounding a corner, he found a curving balcony with white pillars supporting the stone ceiling above him. He widened his eyes at all of this abrupt change in architecture. 'Really, why is this called the Empty Cavern? It's...It's so far from empty...' He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, frowning. 'I think the elder's got something up his snout...' He looked at his map and found that there was another, shorter curved wall opposite of the balcony edge he faced at the northwest. There appeared to be a chest past that. 'Chests are always good,' he thought. 'The more rooms I can explore, the sooner I can get to Vardi.' He was getting worried that she was still nowhere to be seen yet.

Putting the map away, he continued to the balcony. He paused and looked around, getting a bad feeling. Suddenly, the openings behind him and to the south (between the normal stone wall and the end of the curved one he had seen before) were sealed by a sudden spike in stalagmites, like the ones that barred doors sometimes. He looked behind him. 'What the-?'

A deep growling was heard behind him. He turned and slowly looked up at a crack in the ceiling, jaw dropping as he heard a loud pounding sound from it. The crack grew and grew until a beast, vaguely humanoid in shape and covered with rocks, fell down amidst a shower of rubble as it escaped from its prison. Samba gasped at it. It looked...It looked almost like a lizalfos! "What the-? A lizalfos?" he muttered, raising his buckler. He drew his sword, though, and got into stance as the stone beast pounded its chest.

The battle began when the beast, growling madly, stomped towards him at a remarkable speed given how heavy it must have been. Samba waited, ready to roll to the side to avoid its attack. It reached him and raised its arm to swing. Samba rolled aside and dodged the slam that caused a small crater in the floor where he had been. He found a patch on its back that wasn't rocky and gasped as he saw green scales and lizalfos clothing peeking out. "What HAPPENED to you?" he cried in astonishment.

The stony lizalfos didn't care, though. It swung around in a circle, flailing its arms and tail as it struck poor Samba away. With a roar of agony, Samba slammed into the pillars of the balcony. He was extremely relieved that they had stopped him for a moment before he saw an angry stoney lizalfos running at him, trying its best to hop along. Samba squeaked and rolled aside just as it came. WHAM! It slammed into the pillars and appeared to be stuck, since its head wasn't coming back out from between them right away.

Samba saw that he had a chance to attack and, reluctantly, took it. He landed a good combo on the exposed back, making it emit reptilian cries of pain. When he was finished with his four-hit attack, Samba hopped back as the beast pulled its head out, finally, and turned to look at him. Some rocks crumbled away from its body as it jerked itself free. Its body was a bit more exposed now. However, it was also faster. Samba tried blocking a quick hit, but was knocked off balance and given a sore arm from the blow. He ended up getting hit with a left hook, slamming him into the wall. He got up and ran away before it came at him again. 'How can I lure it to charge at me again by the pillars WITHOUT getting broken bones?' he wondered.

He was at the pillars again, and he evaded in time to avoid the charge and fake out the stoney lizalfos again. He landed another combo and stepped back again. More rocks tumbled down when it pulled free of the pillars. An eye became visible as one of the rocks that tumbled away from his head freed it. Samba saw it was bright red and glowing. 'He's possessed!' Samba realized.

The stony lizalfos was now, quite frankly, pretty pissed at Samba. It roared and hopped over to him, making loud BRAM sounds as it hit the ground with each step. When it got over, it immediately reeled back to hit him. Samba dodged and rolled aside again, but this time, he crouched and raised his buckler. He avoided the spinning arms and blocked the tail, though it set him off balance and sliding a few feet backwards. He scampered to the side at the pillars. "C'mon!" he beckoned, waving his arm.

The beast ran at him, roaring as it charged onwards. Samba was just barely able to avoid getting sandwiched between it and a pillar in time. With determination, he set to his final combo. Slash, stab, slash, spin attack! He stepped back again as the stoney lizalfos roared in agony. It fought to free its face again. With each tug, more stones fell. After the third one, it freed so many stones that its head was cleared entirely, save for its face. It stumbled back, dropping stones as it put its paws to its face, groaning in agony.

Samba gulped, a cold feeling in his chest. "A...Are you okay?" he asked, approaching it and raising a paw.

The beast suddenly thrashed around, roaring as it slammed its arms into the wall, beat its tail against the pillars behind it, stamped its feet against the floor, and shook its body from side to side, especially its head. Samba hid behind his buckler as rocks flew off of it. Soon, it had created holes all over the place and had broken a pillar. When Samba no longer felt or heard rocks flying out, he peeked out and gasped. Before him was a HUGE lizalfos, with the biggest arms, tail, body, EVERYTHING he had ever seen. A tattered leather loincloth adorned his waist and a black, torn vest hung from his shoulders. His face was still covered in a mask of rocks, though, except for the eye revealed before. He flailed around more, though slowing down. He started to punch himself in the face a few times.

Samba grimaced and ran over. "STOOOP!" he cried. He grabbed an arm and hung on with all his might. The lizalfos stopped and panted a moment, looking at Samba, before falling to his knees and then to his side. Samba gaped in horror as one of his fellow beings fell for what might be the final time...and it was because of him. He never wanted to kill any of his fellow lizalfos. Never. He crouched down to the hard-breathing face, setting his sword down. "Come on, we'll get this off," he said, grabbing a rock and pulling. It wouldn't budge. He also found that the rocks had suddenly turned red. He backed away, picking up his sword again, after more failed attempts. The lizalfos lay there, panting beneath his mask. He hadn't disappeared yet, like the other enemies Samba had defeated before. "He's still alive..." he muttered. He didn't know if he could do anything, though, so he turned to the only entrance open for him right now, the one to the other part of the room.

He entered and found inside a large chest. He opened it and found, to his surprise, a scroll. He brought it out and held it up. The parchment it was made of some sort of monster's hide, he didn't know what, and tied with a red ribbon. He walked back out to the balcony, where he had better light from the torches, before he opened the scroll.

Suddenly, as his eyes looked at it, he was hit with a burst of light from the parchment. An image filled his mind as it did. He saw a pebble being held in his claws. Suddenly, the pebble set itself ablaze. He saw himself throw it at a particularly dry-looking unlit torch. It sparked as it struck, igniting the torch and illuminating himself back to staring at the scroll. He blinked a bit before he realized that he'd been shown a vision. Shaking his head, he read the scroll. To his surprise, as he read the instructions for something, he realized that he was getting the feeling that you get when you're rereading something and you think you're wasting time, like when you're in the middle of going over the same sentence you just read again. He raised his eyeridges in amazement. "I learned...I learned a spell!" he whispered. He looked to see if there was any more useful information on the scroll.

"'The Fire Pebble Spell. This spell allows you to ignite any small rock you hold in your grasp with the intent of throwing it. When you hit something with the flaming stone, it will cause a great spark that will set ablaze things that are particularly dry, as well as harm foes much more than a simple pebble would. There are also special stones and crystals in this world that react in unique ways when a large spark is set upon them. Keep in mind that one's magical energy will deplete when casting the spell,'" he read. After a moment, he rolled up the scroll, tied it shut again, and put it in his bag, growling thoughtfully. "What does it mean, I wonder? What kind of stones?" He looked at the lizalfos still lying on the floor and raised his eyeridges. "Maybe...glowing red ones?"

He fished for a pebble in his bag, finding out he was running a bit low on them. He looked at the mask, seeing it was a relatively still target. "Well," he muttered, tossing the stone up and down in his paw, "it can't hurt if I hit a rock on his face, could it?" He held the stone in his claws and silently cast the spell, using little more than a thought to make it work. 'I've got a knack for this, don't I?' He aimed and fired with usual precision.

SNAP! A large, loud, bright spark erupted from the point of contact, just as the scroll described. The red stone he had hit glowed bright white. The ones around it glowed one after the other, and soon, the whole mask was ablaze with white light. The lizalfos wearing it roared and shut his eye as the mask glowed. Samba wondered if he'd hurt him. Then, as he raised his face upwards and let out a final roar, clenching a fist, the stone mask exploded apart, sending stones flying straight off all over the place. Samba blocked one before it hit his nose.

"RRRROOOAAAAAAAAUUUUGGHH!" The lizalfos' voice became less beastlike and more lizalfos-like as soon as the mask came off. After the roar ended, he moaned and slowly fell back again, eyes shut.

"NO!" Samba ran over and shook him, a look of horror on his face. "Hey! Are you alright? Please tell me you're okay! Please!"

Slowly, with a groan, the lizalfos opened an eye. A normal slitted pupil surrounded by a green iris looked back up at Samba. "Urrrghgrrr...Y...You..." he muttered before closing his eye and hissing inwardly. "Graaaaaugh...Ow...my body...feels so...sore..."

Samba frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry, but you were some big rock monster and you attacked me," he explained. "I had to defend myself...I'm sorry..."

The lizalfos grunted as he held his head. "My head...my back...Everything hurts...My muscles are screaming at me..." He panted heavily.

"Come on, let's sit you up," Samba said, getting him up into a sitting position carefully (with difficulty-the guy still felt like he was made of rocks).

"Th...Thank you..." the lizalfos said, opening his eyes a bit while he leaned against the wall. He panted for a moment while he looked at Samba. "...You...A...Are you...Samba...?" he asked. Samba nodded. "Why are you...you here? The Empty...Cavern is dangerous...Urrrgh..." He winced at the pain he felt.

Samba frowned worriedly and looked to see if he had ANYTHING in his bag that could help the poor guy. He raised his eyeridges as he saw a glass bottle he had with him. "That's right! I've got blue potion!" he muttered, pulling it out. "Nobody from the village of Jgk'hry leaves without a bottle of this stuff if they can help it at all." He uncorked it and held it to the lizalfos. "Here, drink this, it's blue potion," he said softly.

The lizalfos widened his eyes. "You're giving me...something this valuable...in a vile place...like here?" he asked.

"Listen to yourself-you can barely talk right," Samba said. "I'm afraid I just about killed you; I don't want that to be true. Drink it, please. NOW."

The lizafos smiled thankfully up at him. "Thank you..." He took the bottle and downed it in one gulp. He gave the bottle back to Samba, licking his lips. "Ugh, this is awful...but I'm used to it, working around...the vats...Phew, wow, this is kicking in great, though!" he chuckled. Color began returning to his skin and his tounge, which had been turning a frightening shade of purple, was turning back to a healthy pink. "Aaaaahh..." He closed his eyes as his strength returned and the pain vanished. "Mmmmmmm...Hey, don't tell anyone, but I sometimes sneak a drink of this stuff because this feels so good...Pure relief and energy pounding its way through your veins in moments? I don't care if it tastes like shit!" He laughed as he sat up more, stretching his legs.

Samba breathed an enormous sigh of relief. "HRRROO! Oh, my gosh, I was scared shitless I'd taken the life of one of my own," he said breathlessly. He smiled, heart calming down again while he wiped the rim of his bottle on his shirt before corking it and putting it away again. "There. I'm sure that I can keep my strength up through those weird hearts I've been finding in some rocks around this place, so don't worry," he told him. He wasn't quite certain he could last with just hearts, though. He remembered that this place contained a beast known as the Leviathan of Stone. 'Vardi, don't be inside there, please...' he thought.

The lizalfos nodded. "Thanks, Samba," he said. He stood up, towering above Samba, and stretched his arms. "OOOooohmm, yeah, I feel like a million ruppees, and just seconds ago, I was sure I was a goner!" he described. He put a claw in his hip while he looked down at Samba as he stood. "So, what're you in for?" he asked.

Samba raised his eyeridges. "I'm not in for anything," he said. "That is, well, to find my little sister, Vardi..." He looked down in worry. "I still haven't even caught her scent yet..."

The lizalfos widened his eyes. "What the hell's she doing down here?" he asked. "I got exiled here, but..."

Samba raised his head sharply. "Wait, did you say you're..." he began before he narrowed his eyes. "I think I know who's the reason here...Tell me, did you come here just recently because of a fight at the vats?" he asked.

"Hmm? Yeah, I came here just yesterday, in fact, and because I started a fight at the vats," the lizalfos said, surprised look on his face. "How'd you know?" he asked.

"Because your daughter, Rakeh, came home tonight...or last night, I dunno if it's morning yet or what...and cried about how her father was getting thrown in here," Samba answered, pointing at him. "She and your wife came down here to bring you food and I'm sure Vardi went after them to help them out because her heart's too big for her brain to handle, sometimes. You're essentially the whole cause of this, but I'm not going to blame you for such a weird, harsh punishment for socking someone when they carelessly dumped potion over your footpaw," he said.

Rakeh's father gasped in horror, stepping back and raising his arms. "N...No..." he whispered. "My family..." He gritted his teeth in worry. "Oh, my...Samba! Wait! You..." He pointed at him. "I remember seeing you holding a scroll. Where'd you get it?" he asked. "If I can get it to the chief, he might-"

"I got it in the other part of the room over there," Samba said, pointing. "I doubt that he's going to bring you back up now that I have it, let alone send someone down to find the girls. I'm sorry, but...I'm going with Ko on this one. I ain't giving it to the cheif." He clenched a fist and looked determined.

"Ko? Shit..." Rakeh's father looked worried again as he looked away. "I hope he doesn't get in trouble, either...he's a great teacher for Rakeh and a friend of mine..." He gripped his head with his big paws as if it were about to explode. "My family...your sister...and now Ko are in danger...I'm so sorry!" he said. He looked up and beat a fist into his palm, looking determined as well. "I'm going to help you. Come on." He turned to the stalagmites and reeled his fist back. "Rargon..." He thrust it forwards and blew away the rocks entirely, as if they were nothing but styrofoam. "...PUUUUUNCH!"

Samba blinked at this for a second before shaking his head and scampering over as who must have been the biggest lizalfos in the village started off, his footfalls making very quiet slamming sounds. "Rargon, is it, then?" he asked, getting beside him.

"Yeah." Rargon got to the door and was about to hit it, too, but Samba ran over and opened it. He looked as Samba looked back, showing that there was a simple way for things, sometimes, and put a paw on the back of his neck. "I'm getting a bit anxious, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'll hold that thing open, don't worry. Let's go."

Samba and Rargon came out to the platform. They jumped on and Samba gulped as the weight settled on the chains. "I hope this thing doesn't break..." he muttered. He aimed and fired a normal pebble at the second switch again. "I've got an idea. You go do what you want, but I'm going to go back and see if I can get somewhere new." He turned around to go through the door to the top level of the room he'd left.

Rargon crossed his beefy arms to think for a moment. He then jumped over, opened the door with a roll, and, holding the stone back with his arms, ducked in. "I'm way too big...I think I've been drinking too much blue potion...It does a body WAY too much good..." He turned and jogged after Samba. "Wait for-me?" He skidded as he saw Samba jump so lightly across the stepping stones. He sweatdropped. "Crud. I AM way too big...I'd break those if I tried hopping across!" He sighed in defeat, hanging his arms and ironically chuckling. "And I doubt I can jump across that far...Not enough room for a running start...Oh, guys WANT to be big, but they don't know the half of the trouble it causes..." He continued lamenting the downfalls of being twice as big as other adult lizalfos.

Meanwhile, Samba was on the platform with the crystal switch. He cast Fire Pebble and hit it. As he had hoped, the flame-shaped crystal lit red and a click was heard, then a grinding. He turned and watched a whopping FIFTEEN stepping stones rise from the pit. They were colored oddly-more colorful than natural for rocks. He raised his eyeridges as he realized what they were, smiling. "Tone stones!" he said. He smiled as they stopped in front of him. "Fifteen...let's see if I can make it..." He jumped on the first one. When his footpaw touched the stone, it hummed a low musical note.

He jumped from each one to another, going forward first, then making a little square "C", then zig-zagging a bit as he went by the walled platform's eastern wall, then, going west now, straight a bit before zigging once more and going a bit curved before landing on the platform. As he did, he made one last note. As he went, he slowly played a familiar melody that he couldn't quite place, but sounded appropriate inside a cave.

After he had landed on the platform, the door right to his left became unbarred, the stalagmites sinking back into the ground and leaving no trace behind. Samba wondered at this for a moment before he turned and shouted. "STAY THERE!" he instructed the adult. "I'LL BE BACK IN A BIT, I HOPE!" He then turned and went through the door.

He faced a stone staircase going up. He trotted up, finding a few small rocks that left behind perfectly-sized pebbles for him to pick up, and some that left some strange green bottles. He raised an eyeridge as he looked at one's contents. "It's a little bit of green potion," he determined after taking a sniff. He shrugged and drank any he found. At the top, he turned right and then left, finding some strange enemies that appeared to be winged skull-shaped rocks, but they floated around in the air and tried to ram him. He blocked with his buckler, and they turned red and fell to the ground, where they bounced around helplessly after a few seconds. He couldn't aim well while they bounced so erratically, so he disposed of them with a Fire Pebble as soon as he'd blocked them. They broke apart after touching the spark.

"So THAT'S how you beat gargoyle bubbles!"

Samba turned and found Rargon climing up the last step. He had an impressed look on his face. "I thought I told you to wait," Samba said.

"I'm a grown-up, I can handle looking for my own family," grumbled the great reptilian, crossing his arms. "Now let's get going."

Samba nodded and ran ahead to the door on the left he found ahead. He opened it, ran through, and heard a CRUNK! as Rargon stopped it with his arms while he climbed through. Sweatdropping, Samba commented, "Yeah, you're WAY too big." He turned back around and saw he was back, of all places, in the first real room he'd entered. "Well, I'll be damned, I'm back here again after an hour," he muttered. He examined his surroundings. "Those bridges DO look like fallen stone trees..."

"That's 'cuz they are," Rargon said, gently stomping over and patting the pillar in front of him with a smile. "It's petrified wood."

The two had gotten to 2F, and were currently on the northern half of the western shelf of the two Samba had seen when entering the dungeon. Indeed, two huge bridges of stone stretched across the two shelves like fallen logs, because, as Rargon had said, they were giant petrified tree trunks. "They must be made of Invincelm," Rargon commented, knocking his knuckles on the round bridge's end. "I think most petrified wood wouldn't make a good bridge this big."

Samba shrugged and leaped up onto the bridge. He went out to the middle and found it was all alright. "For me, at least," he said. "There's no door ahead, only a small chest. You might wanna stay there or wait until I'm across."

There was a door on the other side, though-just it was on the other side of a stone partician (that how it's spelled?) on the shelf's middle, just like on the shelf that Samba had just left behind. He got to the chest that was at the other end of the bridge and opened it quickly. No light came from it as he did, to his relief. He came up and held up a small key. "It's a small key," he stated the obvious. "Any idea where to?"

Rargon had been balancing across the bridge, which was letting a few gravel-sized bits down threateningly. He looked up and at the key. "Oh, those things are usually pretty universal in these dungeons," he said. "You can use it on any locked door."

"You know this...how?" asked Samba, eyeing the locked door at the southwestern end of the floor below.

"I did a bit of dungeon-crawling when I was younger," Rargon answered. He followed his gaze and raised his eyebrows. "That looks as good a place as any," he said. He looked down at the ginormous mushroom below in the center of the room. He smirked and hopped down onto it. He landed on it and bounced off, the thing surprisingly holding up to his weight. He landed on the ground and beckoned. "Come on, it's fun!" he coaxed.

Samba nodded and hopped to the bridge. He jumped off of the center and bounced off of the fungus to safety. "That's helpful," he said, dusting himself off.

"I probably could've survived if I just jumped off normally, though," muttered Rargon, looking up at the bridge. "We could have avoided hurting the thing..." He felt a thump at his footpaw and looked down. "Hello, there!" he said brightly to the helmasaur that had bounced back from an unsuccessful ram. "I met one of your buddies when I was jumping like I've never jumped before back in that stepping stone room!" he told it, smiling at it.

Samba tilted his head as he watched what was going to happen.

"He was just as happy to see me, too!" Rargon continued, crouching down and putting his paws on his knees as he looked at the stupid beast with a scary-happy face. The helmasaur blinked, sweatdropping. "You wanna know what I did?" the lizalfos asked it energetically. Then, he rose and punted the thing clear across the room, defeating it as soon as it slammed into the wall ten feet above the floor. Rargon stood again, putting a fist on his hip and opening his jaw in smiling surprise. "Well, what do you know! He was just as thrilled, too!" he said.

Samba burst out laughing, shaking his head while holding his knees. "I'm glad you've still got a bit of a sense of humor despite things," he said after a moment.

Rargon took a bow. "I try my best to use my size properly," he said as he got up. He sighed and nodded, face turning serious again. "Let's go use that key."

Samba nodded and scampered over to the pit. He jumped down, Rargon sitting on the ledge before falling the remaining distance of his toes' height to the floor, as the monsters returned to B1F. Samba stuck the key in the door and turned it. It stuck fast, but as soon as the padlock sprang open, the chains snaked back into the wall and out of sight. He beckoned and opened the door.

A hallway of beautiful, white, polished marble met his eyes, lit by stone scones (I think that's what they're called) in the wall lining it. Broad steps led down a little ways, making a U-turn and disappearing behind the right wall. Samba dropped his jaw. "What the...What's with the screwed-up architecture?" he muttered.

"Search me," Rargon said, shrugging. He started down the steps, finding the hall wide enough for him. "This whole place is huge...C'mon!" he beckoned, and the two went down. They found a big, fat-bottomed fat "L"-shaped room FULL of miniblins. A giant, pink marble door was on the top of the seat of the "L", with an intricate series of marble gears visible in the wall by it connected to an "X" of marble chains. A great marble padlock hung in the center, shaped into an octagon in a way resembling Pokémon's Boulder Badge from Pewter City Gym a bit. Rargon gasped. "The Leviathan's chamber!" he cried. For some reason, he looked scared. Shaking, he took a step back.

Samba raised an eyeridge at him before stepping inside the room and alerting the tiny miniblins. "DANEH!" they squeaked as they hopped over with their pitchforks.

Samba was about to attack when he heard the entrance to the room become barred by stalagmites again, adding a bit of contrast to the room with their plain, rough appearance. He gritted his teeth and set to work on one of the most annoying races of monster in Hyrule history. He used a few spin attacks along with his combat skills to defeat all fifteen of them. As soon as the last one went down, the stalagmites cracked and turned brittle. "Rargon! Come on!" Samba said, beckoning.

Rargon was a bit hesitant, but with a gulp, he nodded resolutely and smashed the stones to bits with his Rargon Punch. Samba ducked behind his sheild again to avoid debris, looking to the right while he did. He noticed a small chest materializing in the top of the "L". He ran over and opened it, getting another small key. Shrugging, he put it in his bag and ran back over to Rargon. "What's wrong?" Samba asked. "You look kinda scared...?"

Rargon nodded, pressed to the wall opposite the chest. "The Leviathan of Stone was the one who possessed me," he explained. "When they dumped me here, I was scared to go in, understandably, and stayed in the foyer. At some point, I backed up against a wall and felt rocks grab me. I heard a hissing voice say, 'You'll do nicely,' and I was sucked into the wall...I was subjected to such pain as the rocks stuck to my face like that and possessed me..." He shuddered, hugging himself. "I'm afraid to face him. I'm sorry, I am. YOU try going through what he did..."

Samba nodded sympathetically. He turned and looked around, suddenly, sniffing the stale air of the dungeon. He gasped.

"What?" Rargon asked, walking over. He took a few sniffs, his sounding like someone sucking in air quickly through a circular opening in their lips. He gasped. "My family's scent!" He sniffed like a dog, turning his head around and taking steps forwards as he followed it, Samba following his example as he caught hold of his sister's scent. The two stopped in front of the door. "Beyond the boss door, of course," Rargon said wearilly. He shook his head and held up a fist. "I'm not giving up that easily, though!" he said, and went to the beautiful marble door. He raised a fist back. "Rargon..."

He stopped, though, frozen. Samba raised his eyeridges. "Rargon? You alright?" he asked.

"...Eeeerrrrr...This is...uh...quite a beautiful...door...uhm...It'd, uhm...be a shame t-to break it down, actually," said Rargon shakilly. Samba saw beads of sweat appearing on his head.

Samba growled aggrivatedly. "Gee, thanks!" he said sarcastically. He shook his head and turned. "I'm going to find the key, then," he said. "Bye." As he thought, Rargon was by his side in an instant.

"That wasn't very fruitful," muttered Samba, arms crossed as he stepped through the door back into the roughness of the mushroomlit cavern. He looked at his map. "Hey, that door..." He looked up at the ladder to his right. "I remember there were some unlit torches..."

Sure enough, the stalagmites retracted as soon as he'd fired a pair of Fire Pebbles at the torches, lighting them. He turned around to look down at his companion. "I'll go through here alone. You can handle yourself, I'm sure. Please, don't try and come up here, seriously," he added, holding his paws out and sweatdropping. "I don't think this ledge'd be able to hold you up..."

Rargon sighed and nodded. "Alright," he said, jumping up onto the ledge and taking a seat. "I'll wait here, then. Have fun!"

"Yeah," grumbled Samba, turning and heading through the door. He found a set of stairs leading downwards and jogged on down to B1F again. He took a left as the stairs curved into an end and saw a wide hallway full of enemies: two gargoyle bubbles, two bokoblins, two helmasaurs, and four keese. He also saw a set of raised stalagmites. Groaning, he raised his buckler and charged in. "OVER HERE, IDIOTS!" he taunted, getting everyone's attention.

The keese attacked first, and he slashed two of them away with his sword before blocking a gargoyle bubble. He quickly fired a Fire Pebble at it, blocked the other one, and finished the bubbles off. He felt a slash at his scruff and looked around at the keese, mouth wide open as it screeched at him. He plugged it shut with a Fire Pebble and blocked the fourth. It bounced along on the ground, somehow, as if in a fit. Samba punted it into a bokoblin's face, knocking it back and into its cohort. He sidestepped the charges of the twin helmasaurs, turned, and comboed them simultaneously before whipping around and comboing the bokoblin who had come over to say hi. Reverse hook kicking it at the end of the combo, Samba launched it back into its buddy, right on top of it before leaping, sword pointing straight down, onto them and executing a finishing blow. He backflipped off and watched as the final enemies fell, defeated. He slashed the air a couple times before bringing his sword, blade forward, up to his nose, flicking it sideways, and slashing down to his side before finally flipping it down underhand and slamming it back in his sheath.

After that, he broke a few rocks, restored his magic and hearts, and jogged along the loooong hallway. After ten full seconds of running along, he reached the end. The stalagmites had vanished, thankfully. "Good, I don't need him after all," he muttered, running up the stairs there.

He ran up the stairs and ran up the stairs...he climbed up them all the way to 2F, according to his map, before finally reaching a flat surface. He took a breather at the top for a few seconds before jogging to the end of the hall. He found no enemies, thankfully, but did find a locked door. Using his small key, he opened it and went through.

He was at the same door that he couldn't get to from the northwestern part of the main room's second floor. Rargon was still sitting there, kicking his feet a little while leaning back on his paws. He heard the door slam and looked up. He waved up at Samba, who waved back. 'I want out of this place,' he thought wearilly. 'I hope I don't have to do much after I find that key...' After getting up on the bridge, he saw a big chest at the other end that was different from the others. Instead of wood, as he'd become accustomed to, it was made of stone. Marble, to be exact. It was more angular than normal, more box-like and sharper-cornered, but it was pretty pretty, regardless.

Excited, he dashed over there and opened it up. He grinned and jumped for joy as he brought out a large key of marble, the handle of which was shaped like the padlock it belonged to. "RAAAHAAAH! That was quick!" he commented.

"You found it?" asked Rargon quickly. He watched Samba jump down to the big mushroom before he ran over to him.

"Yeah, c'mon, let's go save our family members, already!" Samba said, jumping down to the door.

They were met with another problem, however. The key went into the lock and turned, but although a grinding was heard, nothing happened. Rargon looked at the exposed marble gears in the wall to the right of the door. "There's a gear missing," he said, paw to mouth. "I'm afraid that we're SOL unless we can find it."

"Or you can quit being a baby and bust that thing down, already," Samba grumbled under his breath, taking his key back and stomping off up the stairs again.

He recalled that he still had one room to visit left. So, leaving Rargon in the main room again, he went allll the way back to the spike pit room with the platforms. He hit the switch to lower the platform, got on, and raised it again. He made his way to the farthest platform to the north, hit the second switch, and jumped to the raising platform. To his further aggrivation, the big rock to the left of the eye switch prevented him from hitting the second switch from that height. He jumped back over to the one that was aligned with the elevator to the balcony and stepping stone rooms in the final jump from the main elevator he used to the other one described above. (Sorry if that was confusing, I'm trying to hurry and finish this up.)

He debated getting hurt and jumping all the way down to the lowered elevator and decided that slow and steady wins the race. So, he fired a pebble at the second switch, waited until the platforms stopped moving, and hit it again. He immediately ran to the one in front of him, landing on it as it began to lower. He tapped his big footpaw impatiently as it went down, waiting for it to finish. Finally, he fired at the second one again, hitting it and sending them up again. He jumped from the rising platform to the lowering one, this time, and wiped his brow after the tedious task was finished. He opened the (mercifully unlocked and unblocked) door and entered the room he'd been avoiding.

He entered the square room looking at what looked like an honest-to-God maze. He found a dead end after going left and taking a right, and saw another looking south from the entrance that contained a square thing in the floor. He stepped on it curiously and yelped as a slab wall came slamming up behind him, boxing him in. He stepped off the floor switch and it sprang down again. He tilted his head curiously, wondering what purpose that could serve as he stepped out. He also noticed that this room was laid out in equal-sized square spaces, like from some sort of game board-another strange thing.

He shrugged and took a look at his map. If he went forwards from the door and followed the path, he figured out, he would end up right at the keystone, ready for him to take. Not just that, but he didn't hear anything else in the room for him to fight. So, he went to the door, put his back to it, and took a breath.

Starting all the way down on B1F, he went forwards a space, turned right and went up a straight set of stairs to 1F. He continued found a wall and went left, switching back around down to a set of stairs again. Back on B1F, he took a right, two lefts, and climbed the stairs to 1F again, grumbling at the meanderingness. He found a straight space ahead before he had to turn at the corner of the room straight to a set of stairs heading for 2F. This was shortlived, however; as soon as he reached the top of those, he found the top step of that stairway was the same as the top step of the one right in front of him. Going back down to 1F a third time, he continued down to find a 90-degree turning staircase going down and left, since it was at the corner of the room again. He got behind the stairways up to 1F whene he went through two stright spaces of hallway when he strolled along B1F for the last time.

He found another 90-degree-turn staircase at the corner, going up it to 1F, continuing up the straight stairs to 2F. Thankfully, the path didn't dip back down again to 1F (though it could have), and instead went straight one space, turned left at the corner, straight another space, turned left and greeted Samba with the only staircase up to 3F, a floor consisting only of the pathway he found. After turning right while going up the 90-degree staircase, he turned right twice, went forward one space, turned right, left, right twice, forward one, and left twice. He stopped to take a moment to shout in annoyance, "WHOEVER DESIGNED THIS ROOM HAS A REALLY TWISTED SENSE OF HUMOR!" before realizing he'd made a pun on accident, slapping his muzzle. He finished the course by going forward one space and getting to the pedestal holding the hexagonagal prism of stone.

He grabbed the keystone and raised it victoriously over his head. He then noticed that the pedestal began to sink into the floor. He blinked. "I don't remember a chest being here," he muttered before the pedestal finished sinking. The CLUNK he heard was louder than he had expected. He looked up and found that his map lied. There were FIVE floors, with a 4F above him that he couldn't get to normally. All it had was a huge, round boulder that dropped right onto the spot the pedestal was on, anyway, so he wasn't missing much.

"HOLY-!" he screeched before turning and running like hell back down, holding the keystone above his head and looking like an idiot. He then noticed that the floor was slightly sloped downwards, helping the rock get rolling. As he rounded the turn again, taking two rights this time, the boulder slammed into the wall of the platform (all platforms had walls at their sides to prevent any skipping) before it started rolling down again. Deciding it better not to look behind him, Samba decided to go down the path he had just come as fast as he could.

Starting from the two right turns I mentioned, he went straight, left, left, right, left, straight, left, left, and left-downstairs, finding that if he doesn't keep a good distance ahead of time, the boulder would catch him on the stairs. (He also noticed a convienently rounded hole around the top of the stairs that would prevent the boulder from catching.)

On 2F again, he ran right, straight, right, straight, down to 1F, and right-downstairs to B1F. Then, hearing the boulder starting to pick up speed behind him, he poured on the speed as he ran straight, straight, right-upstairs to 1F, and upstairs again to 2F. Here, he stopped to take a breath. "There's no way that thing has enough speed to continue on after this sharp and long a climb," he panted. He looked behind him as he heard the boulder coming at him from where he'd just come. It slowed...slowed...slowed...He held his breath as it sluggishly came to the top of the stairs on 2F. There, it sat, right at the top, for a few seconds before Samba realized it was slowly, ever so slowly, tipping forwards. No sooner had he squeaked and taken off again then the boulder fell forwards, barreling down after him.

Back down on 1F, he hung the hardest right in his right, grabbing his tail just before it got crushed, and zoomed down the stairs to the basement again. Then, he whipped around the two rights and one left with painful force, shouting in fright as he faced stairs going up to 1F again. He was almost there, though! He hung a pair of rights, dashed down the stairs, went left, and, remembering the wall he'd triggered, zipped one last left and stomping on the floor switch.

No sooner had the wall shot up then he heard the boulder slam right into it. It barrelled down away from him and went down the dead end before slamming into the wall with an almighty BRRRAAAMM! Heart pounding, Samba took a few breaths inside the safety of the box before he let out a loud roar.

"THAT! WAS! AWESOME!" he cheered, pumping an arm up while holding the stone in one paw. He laughed and fell back against the wall, letting go of the switch and putting his free paw on his chest to feel his heart pumping at full throttle. "Whew...Wow...Talk about an adrenaline rush..." He pushed himself off and walked over, holding the stone over his head, to examine the damage. He found chunks of rock everywhere, but the other rock he found caught him by surprise.

A Piece of Heart sat there, slowly rotating while balanced on its tip perfectly. He walked over and blinked as he bent down to pick it up, putting the Keystone in his tail. The Piece of Heart hovered above his paws as he gazed at it for a second, a grin slowly coming across his face. "Thank you," he said, absorbing the item into him and feeling himself revitalized. Then, turning on his heel, he went and exited the room.

After surviving the world's most action-packed hedge maze-style labyrinth, he found another, more puzzling puzzle in front of him. He was lowered down and couldn't hit the switch to rise again. He also couldn't get across to the platform across to his his left if it was lowered, anyway, without having to drop the keystone to save himself. Although he had enjoied the thrilling room behind him, he'd rather not waste time going through it again. He set the keystone on the platform as he thought for a moment.

Setting down the keystone on one of its flat and most-secure ends (a hexagon-shaped end) gave him an idea. He got to the edge and found that he could hit the first eye switch. He did and lowered the platform I was talking about. He jumped to it, grabbing the edge and climbing up. Then, he raised the one he was on, raised the one he'd just left, and, after a "One, two, THREE!", threw a pebble at the second switch and dashed to the newly-raised platform. He got on as it began lowering, grabbed the keystone, and jumped off immediately to get to the platform rising up closeby and in jumping range before he missed it. He barely got on in time. He crowed triumphantly as he rose up.

After that, it was only a matter of jumping across the raised platforms to the ledge with the other keystones. Excited and hopeful, he put the keystone inside its slot. After it fell in entirely, three clicks sounded at once. He heard something else and turned around to see a big chest materialize. It looked exactly like the one with the boss key. Chest fluttering, he raced to open it as soon as it had finished materializing. Looking inside, a tear of joy escaped his eye as he greedily snatched up the marble boss door gear and raised it high in victory.

"I'M COMING, VARDI, YOU IDIOT!" he cried, jumping up and down. He smiled at the gear before putting it away in his bag. "I'm coming."


	5. Victory or Defeat?

Rargon placed the gear in its slot. Turning with a smile, he gave Samba a thumbs-up.

Samba nodded and took a deep breath. Before he went, though, he noticed a few pots made of delacately thin marble near the door. Curious, he went over and broke them. Inside one was a bunch of magic bottles, another held hearts, another held much-needed pebble ammunition, and inside the last was..."A FAIRY!" both monsters cried before racing to catch it. Samba was quicker to the draw, however, swinging an open empty bottle and turning around to cork it while Rargon slammed his paws down on nothing behind him. Samba smirked as he held up the bottle. "Good luck's all mine, I'm afraid," he told his companion.

"Come on! You've had your turn with good luck if you've made it this far already WITHOUT a fairy!" whined Rargon. Samba shook his head and waggled a claw. Rargon's face fell. "Dangit..."

Samba nodded. "So, are we ready?" he asked.

Rargon gulped and nodded. "R...Ready," he replied.

"Don't be afraid. That'll only make him stronger." Samba clenched a fist while he dug out the key again. He jumped and stuck it in the lock, turning it before he landed. The padlock hung on, but something happened to make a grinding sound. The stone chains pulled, and the lock soon fell away. As soon as it did, the chains snapped up into the walls, pulled by the gears. The door was unlocked. Samba had only to touch it before the double doors, as it turned out to actually be, slid apart into the wall. He walked in, Rargon joining him. As soon as both were inside, the doors slammed shut behind them.

It was normal rock again. The mammoth room was actually a network of tunnels, it appeared, lit by bioluminescent mushrooms. Above them, stalactites dripped water on them sometimes. The tunnels were enormous, and Samba wondered if the room really was as small as it appeared on his map. He and Rargon walked forwards a ways down a main path directly from the doors. At one point, the tunnel became very wide as they reached a dead end. Samba had a bad feeling, and Rargon was shivering very badly. "I think we're really close..." Rargon whined.

Samba clenched his fists as he looked around. They waited. Nothing. Shrugging, Samba turned around. "Let's try another tunnel," he said while he began walking back.

"Who dares disturb me now?" whispered a sinister male voice. Samba wasn't sure where it came from. It sounded like it came from all over. The language was Hylian, but it appeared that, somehow, Rargon could understand it. Samba, too, strangely found he could understand a bit more easily, as well.

Rargon squeaked even higher than Samba could, stepping back a bit. "S-Samba!" he stuttered, pointing.

Samba looked behind him before turning his whole body. There, in front of them, was the wall they had just found. It was pushing itself out, bearing a giant, beastlike face that stretched from floor to ceiling. Yellow, glowing eyes stared at them, a jaw of stone with stalactite/stalagmite teeth jutting out of its lips. Part of the walls moved and became small tunnels themselves. A dull red glow came from these tunnels and from the creature's maw. Samba bared his teeth and drew his sword.

"You...Blue lizalfos...And you...My former servant..." the beast whispered, mouth making no movement as the voice came from all over. The voice rose slowly as it continued. "I have felt you traveling within my body, fighting. It is annoying...Perhaps I shall do to you what I recently did to those of whom I hear are your loved ones..." The caves shook a little as the creature roared from its mouth. "...and give you the honor of being crushed by my indominatable immensity! Be pulverized by he whose size and strength is beyond words, for all stone in existance in every nook and cranny of reality form his body: Krungratrg, Leviathan of Stone!" The beast's words threatened to burst Samba's eardrums.

Rargon screamed and tried to run, but, despite Samba's reaching paw, he was instantly victim to a huge boulder that came rolling at high speed from one of the Leviathan's arms. After being run over, he sort of stuck and rolled with the boulder before crashing, face-first, into a wall. He struggled to get up, but he quickly fell unconcious...or, at least, that's what Samba hoped.

Samba turned to face the beast, fear starting to flare up inside of him as he realized he was alone against the hugest beast he'd ever seen. "Shit," was all he whispered before the battle began.

Krungratrg (KRUHN-grah-terg) began by firing a few boulders at Samba. These were as big as the one he had run from when collecting the final keystone, and fairly slow. He ran and avoided them while he focused on the face in front of him. After dodging three boulders, the Leviathan spat a spray of fist-sized rocks at him. He raised his buckler and blocked three of them, arm burning from the force it had to endure. He noticed that some of the rocks were glowing red. He also noticed that there was a spot high up on the face, on its forehead, that appeared to be a red ring. The ring was connected to a dimly-glowing red line going above its eyes. Samba had a burst of inspiration. He picked up a red rock and held it while he ran towards the Leviathan to get in range. When he thought he was in range, which was dangerously close, he threw the rock with all his might at the hole.

It bounced off nearby, but suddenly stopped and floated in. Samba couldn't stop and wonder at this, though. Backing off, he grabbed a pebble and blocked the storm of rocks again before he cast Fire Pebble, aimed, and let fly right at the red rock. It glowed white breifly before the whole red line started to glow. A second later, Krungratrg roared in pain as his forehead exploded. He grumbled and fixed it, forming more rock around the wound. His face appeared a bit cracked, now. Samba raised his eyeridges. 'It's a scar!' he realized. 'It must be made of this volatile red rock for some reason.' He noticed that it formed a hole at the same place, but also at the other end, too. 'I think I have to throw a red rock in each slot before I can detonate them again.'

So, the battle continued. Samba was amazed at how stupid this guy was. 'Must come with being made of rocks,' he mused. Krungratrg continued to cycle between throwing boulders-which admittedly got faster-and spitting rocks at Samba. He found a red rock amidst the black ones and threw it at his forehead. After putting one in each slot, he fired a Fire Pebble, sparked an explosion again, and got ready for the third go-around, finding a new slot in the center of the scar this time. Krungratrg's face was pretty cracked, now, and Samba saw red glowing beneath it. He grinned viciously as he predicted what would occur.

Sure enough, after he detonated the scar a third time with three full slots, the Leviathan's face exploded amidst a loud roar of pain. Samba shielded himself from the debris for a moment before looking up. The arms had collapsed and the face was gone. He pumped his arm in victory, panting a bit from the amount of running. A second later, though, the chamber rumbled again.

"Dare not think I am finished so easily! I see I will just have to take care of things the HARD WAY!"

From the spot where his body had fallen into pieces rose what looked like a quadripedal golem of stones about double the size of a goron. It had a humanesque, cartoonishly-huge-chinned (with a cleft, of course) face and enormous stones around its body that appeared to simulate muscles of impossible size. It looked to be the form of a round-backed armadillo, of all things. It grinned and laughed maniacally at Samba. "I'm huNGgry For somE Lizalfos PAncAKeS!" it stated in a grinding, erratic voice that abruptly spiked in intensity and back down normally again at random. It spoke from its face instead of all around, this time, though its mouth didn't move. It cackled, crackled, as it ran a few steps to Samba and curled up into a ball, starting to roll.

Samba yelped and ran, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid him. He was struck from behind and flew off to the side, slamming into the hard ground painfully. As he got up, he noticed that there were some red stones in the stalactites above him. He looked and saw that the Leviathan was uncurling and skidding to a halt. 'I wonder...' He stood, readying a Fire Pebble while stepping back. He waited for the Leviathan to start a roll again before quickly hucking it to the red stone above. He hit, and the explosion resulted in the stalactite and the surrounding stones to crumble and pour down into a huge pile of rubble. The cave-in idea was successful because, as soon as it had finished pouring down, Samba had to duck down and avoid a spray of rocks as the pile was plowed down with a muffled surprised roar. When he looked up, Krungratrg was a heap of stones, a dull rrring emitting from it. In the center was a soft-looking clear globe holding a red fluid inside.

Samba didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that Krungratrg's weakpoint was that globe.

With a warcry, he raced over, hopping up the pile of rocks as much as he could for speed before he got to the top. Without hesitation, he unleashed a good, solid combo attack on the globe, which made Krungratrg cry in pain and roar in agony after the finisher. Samba was able to get in two full combos before he felt the heap rumble. He hopped off and watched as Krungratrg reconstructed himself, using some of the rocks used in the cave-in to increase his size to even bigger than before. Samba found that there weren't any more stalactites with red rocks in this tunnel, so he ran down back to the entrance.

This time, instead of trying to run from Krungratrg, he pressed up against the side of the tunnel, hoping he couldn't see where he was going. It worked, and he continued on, looking for a tunnel with a stalactite he could make a cave-in with. He found another one after some searching and five times dodging Krungratrg's rolling. 'He's like a big, sorta-intelligent boulder,' he mused. He got out his pebble and didn't have to wait long. He waited as long as possible before he caused the cave-in, fleeing along the side of the tunnel as it came down. It was barely as tall as Rargon when Krungratrg slammed into it, exploding into countless rocks.

Samba ran up and unleashed two combos on the liquid mass before he felt the rocks start to move again below him. He didn't make it in time and was stuck inside as rocks came and formed Krungratrg again, bigger than ever. Krungratrg stood up on his haunches before belching quite loudly. As he did, Samba flew out of his mouth, not a very happy lizard. He got up off of the ground and ran as the Leviathan, laughing maniacally, took a swipe at him in the corner of the tunnel.

Samba raced along the tunnels, wishing he had a blue potion with him. 'If I get hit again...will I survive?' he wondered. He noticed that Krungratrg wasn't following. The tunnel rumbled a bit before he heard a CrAcK! and gasped as he looked up.

"I seE YOu!"

The stalctites above started to fall down on him, raining huge spears of death from above. Samba squawked and turned tail. He avoided one wave of falling stalactites, then another, then another by running forwards at all times. He then heard a rumbling behind him and jumped to the side. The enormous beast rolled right by him. No more stalactites poured down, though. He noticed that hearts and-of all things-magic bottles (more bottles than hearts) lay where a few stalactites had fallen, and pebbles had formed from many of the broken pieces of rock.

Samba grumbled and went back, deciding to keep running forwards next time. He got back to where he had been assaulted and found a red-stoned stalactite standing alone among a myriad of holes from fallen stalactites. 'It must have been spared...' He mopped his brow in relief at this. This theory was soon tested when he felt the rumble again. He ran forwards and avoided the rain until the third shower, when he jumped aside, avoided the Leviathan, and ran back to the stalactite he'd seen. He also noticed a few more around it had remained when the shower had occured. Looking over his shoulder to make sure the big galoot was following, he readied a Fire Pebble. As soon as Krungratrg dived into a roll, Samba fired, shored up against the sides, and ran along the wall from the falling rocks. He passed by Krungratrg and made a face as he slammed into the pile and became one himself. He raced over and executed one combo and was two hits into another before he jumped off, feeling the rocks moving again.

Samba repeated the process with the mammoth-sized beast rolling along, sending stalactites at him, or swiping at him when he was close by. His strategy prevailed, however, when he ended up executing one last combo on the beast's weak point. He heard a long, agonized roar after hitting the last time. He jumped off and saw the stones reassemble slowly.

"Nooo...I can'T loSe NOw...I...i...HAvn'T hAD...mY f-f-F-FUNn-n..." The Leviathan seemed to be losing it even more. As his head formed, it went through different angles, like a robot going haywire, before he finally cocked it back to normal. The gathering of the stones picked up speed. "yEeSsssSS...You TroUbleSOMe LItTle gEcKO...CoowWwerrr...CCOOWWEeerRR!" The whole tunnel system began to rumble violently as Krungratrg stood up, still growing, and spread his arms out. "FOORRR YOU hAVE NOWhEERE ELSSEEEeeE!" The walls cracked. "TOOOOOO!" Spiderwebs of deep cracks appeared on every surface between ceiling and floor, and Samba hit the deck, covering his ears.

**"HIIIIIIIIiiiIIIIIIddDDDDDEEEE!"** roared Krungratrg with a voice that almost sounded like he was erupting in bliss instead of rage. Every single wall in the tunnel system shattered with an amazingly loud sound that certainly would have deafened the lizalfos had he not covered his ears. The stones swirled around the Leviathan, growing him to live up to his title. He pressed against the ceiling, revealing that it went up higher than the map could have ever said while he broke more and more stone as he grew. His body grew immense, and it almost appeared as if he was becoming nothing but round back and belly of hardness. Finally, with a deep, otherworldly cackle, the growing ceased.

Samba peeked after the rumbling ended and widedned his eyes. He hadn't noticed the fact that, strangely, there was nothing but empty space around him, nor the fact that he could still see as if it were all illuminated now (despite the walls with the only source of light, the mushrooms, being destroyed), but noticed only what was in front of his muzzle. Before him stood a beast whose face was lowered down to him, a beast that made him look like a tiny ant if one were to back up enough to see him in his entirety. He paled as he looked into the gargantuan, swirling, irregularly pulsing eyes. Then, with a voice in the same whisper as he had started in, Krungratrg said, "Boo."

In an instant, Samba was thrown clear across to the other side of the room. He was still flying in the air, faceup and parallel to the floor, when he gasped in pain five seconds later. He found himself in a bad position and in bad shape, but he had to keep going. So, with sheer will powering him along, he flipped in midair just before landing, skidding along the stone. "What the hell IS that thing?" he cried in shock as he saw it coming towards him. He looked around, finally noticing the strangely different environment. "And how big IS this place?" he added. 'More importantly, HOW DO I BEAT HIM NOW?'

He found that there were now patches of stalactites of pure red in the center of a field of them that were like marbled meat-mostly red with cracks of normal, light grey rock in it. He looked and saw Krungratrg barrelling at him again. "Only chance I've got!" he muttered before firing a Fire Pebble at the red stalactites. They blew in a terrific explosion, causing an immense shower of red pieces to heap up in a pretty big mound, much bigger than what Samba had been doing up until now.

But it wasn't enough. Samba watched in horror as the Leviathan plowed through the pile, covering itself in the rocks all the way around, before slamming full-force into Samba, blowing him at LEAST a hundred feet away again.

And he didn't get up.

...

Well, not instantly. When he opened his eyes, he saw a red fairy flying off, leaving his body revitalized. Getting up, he saw what had happened to the Leviathan, the red rocks speckling his entire body. An idea struck him. "I'll cover him in red rock until I'm sure he's become one big, rolling bomb!" he whispered before getting up and running as fast as he could. He found the big guy started a roll for his position very early now, and rolled in a straight line regardless of the lack of tunnel walls. So, as soon as he saw him coming, if he didn't see another red stalactite bunch between them first, he ran to the side as fast as he could. He barely made it regardless, since the thing he fought HAD to be at LEAST half as big as a mountain. It rolled on for quite some time afterwards even so, giving him time to search more.

He finally found another patch, blew it up, and rolled out of the way as fast as he could before he got run over. He'd used his fairy-he didn't want to waste it. Having started right behind the lizard, the thing covered itself in more red, and Samba saw that they were almost all touching. The speckles had become large spots with cracks of black inbetween them. "One more ought to work..."

He ran again. And again. And again. He had never worked his body so much in his life. Then, he finally caught sight of red. In an instant, he had created a pile of red stone and was running to the side. He got hit, though, and tumbled along for a bit before recovering. He watched as the Leviathan of Stone, at last, became a ball of blood red. He waited for it to stop...turn slowly to face him...then tumble again.

Samba was tossing a Fire Pebble up and down in his paw, sort of like he had been when he was about to use the spell for the first time. "Die," he whispered before throwing it as soon as it began to get in range.

When he struck, right on the nose, the creature started to glow white, spreading from the point of contact until a ball of bright white light faced him. He raised his buckler and covered his ears with his shoulders as one hell of an explosion rocked the whole mountain. When he looked up again, the mound, now a hill, met him again instead of rolling death. Wasting no more time, he drew his sword and ran as fast as he could possibly go, hopping at top speed regardless of how tired he got. Then, with one mighty leap, he jumped from the bottom of the pile all the way to the top, practice sword underhand in his paw.

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIEE!" he roared as he came down in a finishing blow on the soft mass. He punctured it clear through, spraying blood everywhere that turned grey upon touching air. He stayed on, though, twisting his sword around a bit to ensure it died before withdrawing it and backflipping away.

An almighty roar erupted from the pile. The stones rose up, shaking as they formed a vauge shape of the Leviathan. They hovered out in midair, spaces between them all as they formed a sort of basic wireframe, each stone acting as a vertex, of him. When the stones were all used, the half-there Krungratrg held his head while roaring again before exploding apart, sending his rocks all over the place. None hit Samba, though, thankfully. As his foe finally accepted defeat, he did his little victory sword dance again.

As the last echoes faded away, the room faded back in. From being a nigh-infinite space, it had reverted back to a series of tunnels. He was in the same tunnel where it all had begun. He looked around in wonder. "Must be magic," he muttered. He looked in front of him and saw another red stone. "A Heart Container!" he gasped, recognizing the item. Slowly, he walked over and picked it up. "I thought...I never thought a monster like me could get one of these..." With pleasure and pride, he absorbed the item into his body, filling it with energy. He sighed as his fatigue absolutely melted away.

"Uuuuggh..."

Samba whipped around. "Rargon!"

Rargon walked towards him, holding his head. His vest had been destroyed in the hit, and his loincloth hung by threads. "Uuuugh...I think I just got hit by an avalanche..."

"Naw, just a boulder," Samba said, shrugging.

Rargon grumbled before he looked behind Samba. He gasped. "Wh...What's that?" he pointed.

Samba turned and gaped. In a bubble of light, a ring floated down from the spot where Krungratrg had been defeated. Curious, the blue lizalfos trotted over and skidded to a halt beneath it. He held his paws out as it settled down, gently, in them. It was a silver ring with a beautiful ruby in the shape of triangle in it. "What is THIS?" he muttered. He tilted his head. "It feels...strange; magic..." He took it in his claws slowly, raising it...

"DON'T PUT IT ON!"

He gasped and looked up. From a pit in the ground that was in the place where Krungratrg had first appeared came Vardi, running out to him. He broke into a smile and ran to hug his sister, closing his fist around the ring. "VARDI! Oh, thank the godesses, you're alright!" he cried, crouching down and hugging her tight. "You scared the shit out of me!"

She hugged back. "I'm sorry, Samba!" she sniffed. She'd been crying pretty hard, her teal cheeks turned a bit muddy from the color brought up in them. "I was just so worried about Rakeh-kor!"

"Rakeh? Shit! RAKEH! NORGA!" Rargon cried, running over them and skidding to a halt, making some stones fly up as he reached the pit. He crouched and held a paw down to help up his wife, who wore a plain brown dress, and Rakeh. After they had gotten up, the eight-and-a-half-foot lizalfos (he was exaggerating before when he said he was twice as big as most adult lizalfos, which are around six feet on average) embraced them in a hug. "Oh, crap, I'm so sorry! I didn't want you guys to come for me! I was fine! I swear!" he blubbered. "Don't EVER do anything this stupid for me again, alright?" he asked, crying big tears. They nodded back at him while they hugged him.

"Don't start another fight at the vats, Daddy!" Rakeh cried.

"And quit guzzling more blue potion than you need!" added Norga, his wife. She had a female voice, but a bit of a deep one-deeper than Samba's mother's. "I love my giant, but next time someone interrupts your drinking, let them, alright? Nobody knows if you can die from overconsumption of our lizafloren-enhanced potion...you've been lucky so far, you know..." She continued scolding her husband, crying at the same time, while Vardi giggled.

Looking over at them, as well, Samba sighed. "And YOU never run off like that again," he scolded Vardi gently, looking back at her. "You almost got me killed looking for you."

Vardi gasped, then took a step back and bowed deeply in apology. "Sorrysorrysorry sorrysorrysorry SORRY!" she squeaked, blushing.

Samba chuckled and told her he's fine. He held the ring out in his paw and looked at it. "What is this?" he asked.

"Don't you remember from what Ko said?" Vardi asked. "It's part of that thing he was talking about." She looked left and right before leaning in and saying, "Put it in your pocket or something, but just hide it from the chief. I'm with Ko on this one all the way-I don't like what's going on."

Samba looked serious and nodded. "Right," he said, burying it in his pebble bag carefully (he still had ten or so pebbles left). He stood and turned, noticing a blue beam of ascending light. "What the-?"

"Ko told me those appear in caves and stuff sometimes," Vardi said. "It'll take us back outside! C'mon, everyone!" she called, beckoning with her arm as she began to trot over.

First went the girls. Then the giant lizalfos named Rargon, who thanked Samba with a huge bow in midair, and finally it was Samba himself. As he rose towards the ceiling, light brightened and whited everything out.

After the world faded back in, Samba blinked to clear his vision of spots as the light deposited him down at the entrance of the cave. Dawn shone through the chasm above as the river ran below. The light shone beautifully off of the scales and metal armor of the guards who rushed to grab Samba as soon as he had landed. "Wh-What the-?" He was brought by two strong lizalfos in front of the chief. Beside him, he saw five large lizalfos restraining Rargon with difficulty. Rargon didn't look too happy.

The chief of the village of lizalfos called Jgk'hry was a large dinolfos. Standing at six and a half feet, he had dusty brown scales, a grand frill, and half-shut, laughing, acid green eyes. On his left, he wore a single shoulder plate with large spikes, the way their ancestors did back when Ganondorf first came to Hyrule hundreds of years ago. An ornate leather loincloth hung about his waist, and a red cape covered his back and right shoulder, coming down to the ground. "Samba." He spoke in a bit of a drawl, voice deep and commanding even if he were to give a request. He gave him an evil smirk. "Well-done."

Samba looked up in his eyes with confusion. "What's going on?" he asked, but he was smacked hard on the muzzle by a guard.

"Silence while your leader speaks," the chief said, losing the smirk. "And if you complain one bit, you'll never see her again."

At this, Samba noticed that, struggling in the arms of another guard, his sister was being held captive, as well. Likewise, Rargon's family was being held hostage. He also looked and noticed Ko, who was standing with a very sorry expression on his face as he looked back at Samba. Behind him stood two spear-weilding guards. It was, really, quite the crowded ledge. 'Ko...'

"Ko. Excellent work leading us to the Empty Cavern after all you've done," said the chief without looking.

Ko said nothing, frowning tightly and clenching a fist as he had to resist glaring at someone who could and would order him thrown into the river if he was displeased.

"Now, tell me," said the chief. "The Ring of Dualty. What happens when you wear it?"

Ko was silent at first before he was prodded in the back with a spear. "You become either the Leviathan of Wood or the Leviathan of Stone, depending on whether you took the bronze Ring or the silver Ring, respectively," he answered curtly. "That is, unless you're one of those chosen to weild the Blade of E-"

"Countless Slain," finished/corrected/interrupted the chief. "And you took it, didn't, you, Samba?" he asked.

Samba was silent.

The chief scoffed. "Search him."

He was searched-patted down, the contents of his bag spilled out onto the ledge, and finally every pebble dumped out of his bag until the ring fell out with it. The guard who'd dumped it out picked it up and held it out to the chief.

The chief chuckled briefly as he examined it. "I see." He tossed the ring onto the floor by Samba. "Take it. Gather your things. You are coming with me." He chuckled evilly. "You are now the crux of our campaign starting later today to Hyrule Castle."

Samba blanched. 'My...My dreams! Were they...prophecies?'

The chief raised an eyeridge for a moment. "Surprised? Don't be. You're an excellent swordsman and very capable of many things. As well, you are a magic user, since I know it as fact, thanks to your bookwork friend here," he said, and allowed the guards a snigger at Ko (who looked unimpressed at their idea of "funny"), "that the Fire Rock-or Pebble, or Stone, or Whatever-spell is needed to vanquish Krungratrg. Take a pebble, which I hear you're famous for throwing, and show me," he commanded, pointing to one of the pebbles from his pouch that was now on the ledge.

Samba was low on magic before the Heart Container, but now, here he was, having enough to cast what was becoming a close friend after it had saved his hide and his sister's (however breifly) and he didn't want to. However, he had his paws tied with Vardi and Rargon's family in jeparody. He grabbed a pebble, aimed across the river, and fired. It made a spark as it hit the opposite side. "All it does is cause a big spark," he said. "Nothing you couldn't do with a flint and steel and a little time."

"Yes, but can anyone else match arrows with mere pebbles?" asked the chief, raising his head as he looked down haugtilly at Samba. "You shall make an excellent warrior. With you, we can carry out our grand campaign with certainty. And if you disagree with that..." He trailed off as he looked at Vardi, who widened her eyes before she kicked around furiously. She screamed, but it was muffled, since a cloth had been tied around her snout and chin, holding her jaw tight. The chief looked back at Samba, drumming his claws together. "So? What do you say?" he asked. Vardi, starting to cry again, shook her head furiously.

Samba glared at the chief. "As if I have a choice," he muttered.

"Good," the chief said, and pointed to his things strewn about the ledge. "Gather your things and get anything else you need from home and possibly get some sleep. We will collect you come midafternoon. Until then." He turned and started off. "Oh, and Rargon," he added as he went. "You're going to be a special project of ours unless you want to face the same consequences as Samba would have..." He chuckled to himself as he went to the edge of the ledge. He proved to be no pushover physically as he, after pausing to look back with a triumphant sneer, hopped down the ledge and down the way Samba had come. His guards and their captives followed. Ko looked helplessly while he mouthed, "I'll come by later," in Hylian to him.

Samba just continued to glare at the chief for a moment before bending down and gathering his things. Three minutes later, he started back to home.

When he reached it, he looked at the door mournfully before entering, going to his room, putting his things on the floor, sitting on his bed, and crying in rage, confusion, and overall stress.

Fifteen minutes later, after he'd gotten some food for his hungry belly-he was way too awake to sleep right after what he just saw-he heard a knock at the door.

"Ko," was the only word spoken from behind it.

Samba came and slowly opened the door. Ko came in and closed it behind him, a totally sorry and guilty look on his face. "I'm sorry, Samba," he said softly. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's fine," Samba half-lied, turning and sitting in a chair. He was a bit bitter at the moment.

Ko looked away a bit as he sat down as well. "It's...sort of my fault...I wasn't strong enough," he began, adjusting his glasses. "I was visited very early this morn by guards saying that they had a message from the chief. They showed me a note in Hylian written by, it looked like, Vardi, and said that unless I decode it, they'll burn my books and put me into the campaign, anyway. I then had to face leading them to the Empty Cavern, though they knew perfectly well where it was, since they've got their weapons store in a room nearby where the Leviathan had been. I don't know if you noticed another locked door in the dungeon or not, but I think it was directly east of the door leading to the stairs that you go down to reach the Leviathan." (Later on, Samba would look back at the map of that place-noticing, too, there was a chest behind that cave-in he'd seen before in the hallway behind the first door he could enter from the main room-and discover, yes, there WAS a door there.) Ko buried his face in his paws. "I'm sorry. I was weak."

Samba looked away, blank expression on his face. 'A guard must have caught me running out.' "You were given no choice," he said quietly and calmly. "You need your reading material so that you can teach people Hylian. I know how important that is to you..." He looked down a little. "...and your students," he finished in a whisper so that Ko couldn't hear him.

Ko grabbed at his skull in the same way some people would grab thier hair. "Promise me you'll make good use of that language and apologize to everyone you fight," he said.

"I'll try to remember."

"Thank you. That's all I need on that." Ko leaned back and sighed, wiping his brow. "...I know that you've got to follow the chief's orders," he said after a moment, "but I'm just going to say this, in case it might come in handy: Whatever you do, don't take anything said to you directly from Princess Zelda for granted. Listen to her. She is descended from a line of princesses who have borne the Triforce of Wisdom. If she asks you a favor, I'd do it." He sighed and shook his head. "You're stronger and braver than I am," he told him. "Far more. If I were as strong and brave as you and were in your footpaws, I would try and find a way to save my sister."

"That's what I've been TRYING to do since I woke up!" seethed Samba, turning sharply to look at Ko. He was NOT happy, and his bared teeth showed it. "I woke up in the middle of the night and ran out to save her. I thought I'd done it after what became the longest night in my life...I almost died...I didn't know fairies restore your life if you're killed," he commented despite his unhappiness.

Ko nodded, glad to change the subject. "Some say that they only react to a noble heart, but that's just a legend; the only thing noble hearts do is spur them to heal you even more. They'll resurrect you no matter what, though, if you're an adventurer-something you'll be come noon or, perhaps, are now. So, it's very wise to keep a fairy in a bottle at all times," he advised. "They can be more valuable than our lizaflorenized blue potion at times. By the way, do you know what they're going to do to poor Rargon?" he asked. "They're going to start making a special batch to force feed him as a meal each day, starting today. The chief thinks that he can make the perfect secret weapon in the form of a Leviathan-sized lizalfos. He'll end up killing the poor guy, or worse..." He shuddered. "Never underestimate the power of too much of a good thing. It can be quite unpredictable compared to the opposite end of the spectrum. Not only that, but he's going to end up wasting our valuable supply of lizafloren."

Samba was silent.

Ko turned and put a paw on his knee. He looked with a sympathetic face at him. "Look, I'm sorry, I really am," he said quietly. "But have heart; I'm sure that Fate's got it in for you, but so does Destiny. You're the first person to have conquered the Empty Cavern and lived to tell the tale, AND the first to have recieved the silver Ring of Dualty and do the same. Sure, our chief wants to use said ring for his own purposes, probably using you somehow, but I swear, you getting that ring means something." He smiled a little bit at Samba.

"What does he wanna do, exactly?" Samba asked, tilting his head and crossing his arms.

"He wants to band the races of monsters together," Ko said darkly. "At least, that's what it looks like to me. I don't know if he's the grand mastermind, but he's probably got a big head now that someone from HIS village got a Ring of Dualty."

Samba scoffed. "If he even cares about the village anymore," he grumbled.

Ko groaned sympathetically. "I know," he said. He frowned in worry. "I don't know what's gotten into him as of late, really...He's been acting like a complete tailhole for a month and a half. The only reason I'm still putting up with him somewhat is because I know that our old leader's still in there, somewhere..." He crossed his arms and looked down in thought.

Samba looked out the window. "I remember," he muttered. "He used to be so nice, and made so many good decisions. Sure, he sent my father out so long ago that I've forgotten who he is...though, with the little time he spent with me, it's not all that surprising...but that's the only time the chief's sent anyone out for anything." He clenched a fist. "Now, he's sending out every male, even someone as young as I am, to some...some WAR or something stupid. He's going to make Rargon a lizalfos guinea pig. And, to top it all off, he's threatening both Rargon and I by holding his own people HOSTAGE!" He banged his fist on his chair. "What the HELL crawled up his ass?" he exclaimed, seething with his teeth bared in a snarl.

Ko squeaked and made shushing noises. "Hush! A guard might hear you!" he said urgently in a hoarse whisper. Samba growled, but he closed his lips again and sat back in his chair. Ko breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he said, calmer.

Samba grumbled, "Seriously, though..."

Ko frowned again. "I know...I've actually come to secretly hate him for how he's been acting. He keeps saying that he's got the village at the forefront of his mind, but I'm seriously thinking that his ego has somehow inflated itself so extraordinarily, he's actually thinking about himself way more." He whined worriedly. "Maybe...Maybe being chief for so long and having us praise him for his leadership has finally gotten to him...He's becoming more of a tyrant than a chief, now." He looked away a bit, then looked back at Samba, a sorry expression on his face. "You're going to follow his orders even if I said not to, aren't you?" he asked softly.

Samba nodded. "I have to," he said. "Otherwise, Vardi's going to be killed, and I'd probably be next. I have to go with him to Hyrule Castle whether I like it or not."

"Good," Ko said, pointing at him. "Keep an eye on him. See if he does anything weird, even for what he's been doing lately."

Samba nodded, looking serious. "I was going to do that in the first place," he said. "If someone can change so much that they can make you momentarily forget all the good they've done while hatred fills your body, something's bound to be up. If he's really become this vile..." He trailed off, looking unsure.

Ko looked down at the implication. "If it comes to that, then just cry out for help. Best-yet-worst-case scenario there would be that the Legendary Hero comes and kills him...and perhaps many others of us if us kinder lizalfos can't stop him by speaking to him in Hylian. At least he would be gone." He closed his eyes tight as he spoke. He opened them now and quickly said, "But that's only if he's truly evil inside and it's just showing now! Of course I want our old chief back, of COURSE I do!" He leaned forwards a bit while he said this last part.

Samba smiled sympathetically, holding up his paws. "I know, I know," he said, sort of chuckling. "I do, too."

Ko sighed and leaned back into his seat. "Right...Right." He looked out of the window, seeing the morning light reflecting off of the lake. "I'm sorry, but...you'd better get some sleep if you can at all. You've got your orders from the chief and your mother to both carry out, and you need some energy." He smiled sadly back at Samba. "Before I leave, though," he said, getting up, "I have one last request for you."

"What?" Samba asked, looking up at his friend.

Ko smiled and tapped Samba's head with a claw. "Use this once in a while, would you?" he asked a bit playfully. "I mean it." He crossed his arms and slouched as he looked at Samba. "That's just your problem sometimes," he said. "You follow orders from your superiors just about no matter what. You've got to remember that you're someone, too. Think for yourself and decide what to do. I know," he quickly added, holding up a paw to stop Samba before he retorted, "you do that when you're in combat. But I'm asking that you think for yourself when outside of a combat situation or solving a puzzle like you had to when inside the Empty Cavern. You have something that some peoples have been denied at points through history: The freedom of individuality. The right to think for yourself." He smiled and chuckled as he turned. "Don't waste it; but, be sure you're certain you can handle the consequences when you choose to use it." He stopped and muttered, "As I said before, I'm not good at this kind of thing. So...Don't die. See you." He opened the door and left.

"Bye," Samba said softly, raising a paw after his friend. He held it there for a second before he let it fall. Then, he stood up, turned, and retired to his bed for what scant few hours he could catch of sleep.

**...**

Link woke up and stretched, having rested quite fitfully. It was midmorning and the sun was still climbing high into the sky. He got back out onto the path from his cave and continued towards Hyrule Castle Town...well, at least he hoped he was going towards it.

He faced more enemies as he went, and when he at last reached the town, it was midday. He was a bit tired and hungry, so he gladly went inside in hopes of finding a tavern. He found the town was more like a city, it was so huge compared to what he was used to. Bustling with people, wagons, and stalls, he had a bit of difficulty making his way inside to the center of town. Once he got there, he found a fountain that he gladly went over to in order to take a sit. He doubted it was water for drinking, so he decided to wait until he found a tavern to quench his thirst.

'What now?' he wondered. He looked around and found no signs directing him. So, he decided to find someone who looked nice enough to give him directions. Standing up, he looked around the fountain and found a couple of women standing on the opposite side of where he had been sitting, busy in the act of gossiping.

"You hear about what happened at The Broken Rupee?" asked one woman excitedly.

"You mean that dingy place down the east part of town over there?" the other asked, thumbing to her right. A road was in that direction, and it went, well, east.

"Yeah! I hear a guy got drunk and went around saying that you can die if you go into the old cathedral in town after dark when everyone's left the streets!" She laughed. "Can you beLIEVE that?" she asked, batting her hand down and holding it up that way, resembling a cat for some reason.

"With as sharp corners as those seats have around them, yeah," the other woman scoffed facetiously, crossing her arms.

"You've been there? ...Hey, is it really haunted, you think?" the first woman asked quietly. The other woman sighed and held up her hands, shaking her head as she looked up helplessly.

Link followed the direction the second woman had pointed down and eventually found the nice-looking tavern. A hanging sign over its door with an actual big red rupee-normally worth quite a lot-broken in half on it bore its name. Link went in and found it to be a bit fuller than the last tavern he'd gone to, as was expected in a large town like this. He went in, ordered some water and some food, and sat down at a table by some people who gossiped a lot. 'I'm turning into quite the eavesdropper,' Link mused with a little bit of shame.

"So, what's this new game they've got in town, now?" asked one burly man. "'Hall Racers' or something?"

"'Wall Racers,' corrected a young man, probably about twelve, pointing at him. "It's really cool! They're talking about making a special show for people who want a challange instead of a race. I LOVE it!" He grinned and shook his fists enthusiastically.

"How do you, like, race walls?" asked a blonde woman, tilting her head and putting a finger to her chin.

"You tell it to go to that line and walk over to it!" laughed a tan-skinned, red-haired woman in an exotic outfit.

The blonde pouted and crossed her arms. "Like, not funny," she told her.

The kid shook his head. "Actually, people race ON them," he explained. "They all sit in some cool little special chair attatched to the wall and pedal like crazy. It looks fun, but they're a bit dangerous to get close to, since they really hurt if they hit you. It's like getting hit by a horse!"

"Then why not just make it a horse race and drop the gimmick?" the burly man asked. "It sounds like a lot of work for a stupid race...I miss the old shooting gallery..."

Link thanked the waitress as she came and brought him the glass of water, hunk of bread, and thick soup he ordered. He began eating as he waited for some pertinent gossip to start up.

"Speaking of shooting," said the gerudo, putting a foot up on her chair, "I heard that the guards are shooting at things at night, saying they swear they're monsters. Half the time it's traders or stragglers from that caravan of entertainers that goes around Hyrule all over the place."

"Heh, yeah," said the man. "They're getting a bit defensive lately."

"Hey, why are the guards, like, doing more stuff around the walls of, like, the town?" asked the blonde, tilting her head again.

"Because the castle said so," the kid answered. "I'm serious! I'm not making fun of you!"

"But, like, what's going on?" asked the blonde.

"I hear they're picking up security because of the increase in monsters around the outside of town," the man said. "From some of the folks I've seen around here, I'd say they haven't been doing a good job..."

The gerudo raised an eyebrow. "You implyin' somethin', bud?" she asked shortly.

"No, I'm not," the man answered back just as shortly. "I've got nothing against you gals-except for the fact you're cruel as hell to men sometimes."

The gerudo batted her eyes sweetly and smiled. "Well, you gotta be able to provide, you know," she said. "We gotta find guys we're sure're gonna turn out top kids."

"Well, you'd get a lot more if you weren't so damn sexy..." the man muttered, crossing his arms. Link sniggered. 'He's right, though,' he thought. 'They ARE damn sexy...'

The blonde humphed and glared at the man. "ExCUSE me? Like, helLO-o? Girlfriend here!" she reminded him, pointing to herself.

The man groaned. "I know, but can't a guy make a compliment to another woman?" he asked.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Duh! Of course not! Like, not in front of your girl!" She scoffed as she half-eyed at the gerudo. "Pssh, and, like, people call ME an airhead..."

"Tell me about it," the gerudo said, rolling her eyes as well. "I mean, guys think we're all about earrings, necklaces, and nice clothes."

"Yeah," the blonde agreed. "We're also about, like, keeping our hair perfect." She nodded with crossed arms and closed eyes like it was a matter of fact.

The gerudo chuckled. "Amen to that, sister, but not what I was thinking of, precicely," she said.

"...Oh! Like, we want nice guys, too!" the blonde added, blushing. "Can you say, like, 'major fail in the trying-not-to-be-a-ditz department?'" she giggled, putting a hand behind her head.

"It'd be a bit late, if you ask me," whispered the boy to the man across the table, who sniggered.

"But, like, I know I'm gonna sound worse, but, like, we like other jewelry," the blonde said. She held out her hand and sighed, looking dreamily at the finger right next to her pinky. "Rings are, like, so pretty and stuff, too!"

The gerudo nodded. "Which makes it quite a shame they've got that ring aaaalllllll locked up for nobody to wear inside the castle," she said. (Link scootched his chair over an inch.) She crossed her arms and looked away, unpleased face on as she recalled, "When I just tried to take a look at it, they threw me out. And I even asked the guards posted at the entrance to the room where it was to let me in nicely!" she added, holding her hand up and looking back across the table with a look of annoyance.

The blonde dropped her jaw. "Well, that was, like, really rude," she commented.

"Yeah, sneaking past all the OTHER guards instead of going and asking the FIRST one's pretty rude," the man scoffed.

The gerudo pouted. "Well, I'm sorry for doing what came natural to me," she said. "At least I was thoughtful enough not to get in there without permission at all."

"What's up with that thing, anyway?" asked the boy curiously. "It's just a ring, right?"

"HelLO-o?" the blonde went, raising an eyebrow at him. "If a piece of jewelry's being locked up like that, it's, like, Royal Family stuff! It's probably, like, got tons of awesome history with it!"

The gerudo raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Blondes DO like more than material things," she muttered, impressed.

The blonde slammed her hands on the table as she barked, "HEY!"

The rest of the table laughed at this, though. "But you're on the right track, sorta," the gerudo told her, pointing a finger at her. "That thing's pret-ty special, alright. It's not Royal Family property, per-say, but it's being guarded by them. I hear that they had to carry it in there without ever touching it directly. It's magic, and is supposed to curse you if you do." She waggled her fingers and made a spooky face. "And then, if you wear it, something REALLY bad's supposed to happen to you!"

"MAGIC?" the man repeated, eyes widening. "And you wanted to steal something that's magic? You idiot!"

The gerudo growled at him. "I just wanted to look at it," she said through gritted teeth at him. "I'm worried because some of the girls back home have been talking about a prophecy made quite a while ago by one of our kind involving some special rings and monsters," she explained normally. "It also described the rings, too. I don't know whether to believe the rumors or the description the proph has; it says that you can touch it all you want, but wearing it DOES bring bad stuff to you. Anyway, though, I got to thinking, 'Hmmm, a ring goes and gets protected by the Royal Family and monsters are going around a lot more. Connected?'" She paused and looked around as the idea sank in.

Link furrowed his brow. 'A prophecy about special rings and monsters?' he thought. 'What kind?'

"Anywho, I thought I might maybe take a look at the ring while I was hanging around here." She shrugged. "So much for that. All I hear is it just had a triangle-shaped sapphire in it and was plain gold, though. Nothing really special. But, if you think about it," she said, waggling her finger and looking a bit mischeivous, "that makes it all the more special, considering what's going on over it."

Link finished his food and thought a moment. 'She's right,' he thought. 'It's got to be like my ring I got from Ruedekul...I wonder...should I...go and check it out before I consider giving mine to the Royal Family? Would they believe me?' He wondered what he should do as he waited to hear any more gossip.

"Very interesting," the man said. "But I don't think that anything magic like that's something we should worry about." He sounded unhappy. 'Must be a magic hater,' Link thought.

The gerudo held her hands up in defeat as she closed her eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll hush," she sighed. "I don't have much else more for useful information on that, anyway, so it's nothing worth gossiping about anymore."

Link stood up and left after that. His first task was to go to the castle. After a half hour of looking around, during which time he ended up exploring the whole city, he found it, north of the fountain. A guard stopped him at the gate, though, saying that only those with royal business could pass. He wondered if he should show him the ring, but he considered it and thought he'd get thrown out for sure if he was thought to be lying. So, he sighed in defeat and looked for an inn to stay the night. He wasn't leaving Hyrule Castle Town until he saw that ring if he could help it.

**...**

Samba was awoken by the sound of knocking on his door. A guard spoke. "Samba. Get up. Get your things. The time's come." Samba groaned and got up, having gotten less than eight hours of sleep and feeling a bit groggy, not to mention he felt pretty low already. He stood and went around his room, looking to see if there was anything he should bring in his bag. The things he got from the dungeon, his bag of pebbles, and that was about...wait.

He exited his room, finding the guard had moved to wait in front of the front door, and went into Vardi's. He looked on the floor and found that her doll was still there. He picked it up and turned back to his room, where he went and packed it. 'I'll have to give this back to her when I save her,' he thought. 'This way, I know I HAVE to save her; she'll want it back, and I can't lug this around forever.' He grabbed his buckler and practice sword and walked out, having slept in his clothes.

"Ready?" the guard asked. Samba nodded. "No, you're not," the guard said shortly back, making Samba narrow his eyeridges. "You've still got to put on the proper attire and equip yourself better." He knocked on the door and stepped aside. Another guard stepped in, carrying a pile of clothing and something long wrapped on top. "You're lucky the chief likes you," the first guard said as the second placed the bundle in Samba's arms. "That sword's a lot different than what soldiers are usually given, since you've been seen with a practice weapon like it and he wants you to fight the way you're most used to. Go put it all on and come back out. We've no time to lose." The guards stayed still, waiting at the front.

Samba waited, looking at them, for a moment. The guards fidgeted a little before the second one leaned over, cupped his paw to his mouth and said quietly with a bit of genuine sympathy, "Look, Samba, we're sorry about the situation you're in, but we've got business to take care of here and the chief's got an eye for you after what you did. We just don't have time to be sympathetic, or we're sunk. Please understand..." He stood up again and stood still once more.

Samba nodded understandingly before turning and walking back into his room. He closed the door and undressed, taking everything off of him. He looked at himself, standing as just a big, blue lizard. 'I have the feeling that I'm not going to be undressing anytime soon in the near future,' he thought, giving a small smile at the random thought. He then looked at the items of clothing and, slowly, put them on, one by one.

A moment later, he stood, dressed. He had on a durable white loincloth that encircled him like a kilt with a split for his tail underneath a normal, front-only leather loincloth made of five stiffened strips of increasing size as they met into the center. The first was held up by a belt of thick leather squares in a strip, like on the loincloths warriors wore. On his big feet, which he swore had gotten just a little bit bigger, he wore strips of tough leather that covered the balls of his feet and went into a thong that stretched around his ankles. Three sharp stripes of black, fade-resistant warpaint went across his normally-plain back and two went from the base of his tail out. White short sleeves connected to each other with strips of cloth that ended right at his collarbone, interesting articles of clothing that were basically like on a normal shirt without the bottom. A standard-issue item went over it; a very thick vest made of Dodongo hide hung around his chest, laced together at the bottom loosely with a single hourglass of leather cords. He also wore metal shoulder plates that looked like giant scales and enough metal on top of his short-cuffed leather gauntlets that they looked like they were solid metal gauntlets from the top. The gauntlets' three fingers were actually fingerHOLES, since they didn't even go to the first joint. On his head he wore a metal helmet that went only over the top part of his head, covering the top of his snout and eyeridges. A leather chinstrap hung from behind his eyeridges down the sides of his head to meet under his jaw. A support strap farther down his snout met the strap underneath his eye, making it framed on all sides by his helmet. Two horns poked out of the back on top of the helmet, sort of like a dragon's. He was dressed for combat.

He looked at the final piece of armor that he had left lying on his bed. It was a piece of frontal armor that protected his chest and middle. Groaning, he remembered that he had to put it all on, so he did, hanging it from his neck and shoulders and around his body. He then took a look at the wrapped item, unwrapping it. It was a real, sharp, steel sword, longer than his practice sword was by a foot and a half. Its hilt and handguard were blackened metal and were pretty basic, with leather wrapped around the hilt. It had a bit of serration on the blade near the hilt on the edge that he would be using to slash with. He swung it a few times before nodding, taking the scale-patterned black leather-covered metal sheath, putting the sword inside it, and strapping them to his waist where his first weapon was. He got no new buckler, which was fine, since his was pretty good already. It had a few small dents from the countless rocks he repelled earlier, but it was still good. In fact, it was already almost standard for lizalfos shields. So, finally, after attaching his pebble bag to his belt and getting his normal bag, he left his room.

"Ready?" asked the first guard again. Samba nodded. "Then follow us." Samba followed them out of the house, but he stopped and looked back for a moment at his home. 'Goodbye.' He turned and went back to following the guards.

They went around the lake and all the way to the entrance of the town. Many who couldn't go watched as they went. Ko was actually nearby the place where the other lizalfos, some wearing armor like Samba and some just in a basic leather loincloth and vest like most normal fighters, grouped, waiting to leave. As Samba reached him, wearing a sad smile, Ko gave him something. "I know it's not much, but take it," he whispered quickly before Samba had to walk on. As Samba nodded, putting the item in his bag, and turned around to continue walking straight, Ko bade a final, "Farewell, Samba."

Samba stopped when the guards directed him to the back of a group of some twenty-five other soldiers. He saw that the chief was up front, looking the same except for wearing a helmet and some upper body armor and holding a mighty, ornate flachion that was as long as his body-counting tail. He raised it up with one arm effortlessly, pointing towards the entrance of the cave leading out. "Everyone, we are about to embark on the beginning of a war. Be brave, be strong, and be sure to slit the throat of anyone who dares defy me in my goal. We might die, though we hopefully will not. I promise, though, that we shall return victorious. Now, then! Onwards! For glory and for our village!" He started off, sheathing the sword in its sheath on his side that really ended up going across his back behind his red cape.

The soldiers cheered. Samba didn't. He was in this for Vardi's life, not for the village. He followed the clanking group out of his hometown, leaving to explore the world outside the mountain for the first time in his life.

The group went through the dark cave path, each hopping across the stepping stones over the lake without falling (not even Drejsk, whose armor consisted of the largest chestplate availible and a great big vat's lid to cover his gut). When they reached the exit, the afternoon sun blazed on their armor, blinding them for a moment. Then, they went down the mountain, moving as fast as they could. They reached the bottom by late afternoon. They then began their march across Hyrule Field to Hyrule Castle. They were already halfway when night fell and they had to set up camp.

Samba removed his armor before lying down on the grass to sleep, using his bag as a pillow. He then remembered what Ko had given to him and brought it out. It was merely a piece of parchment with a seal on it and words reading, in Hylian, "This voucher is good for one free string instrument at Sound of MuZach." He raised his eyeridges. 'Wow. Pretty useless, but still something you don't just throw out,' he thought as he put it away. He sighed and put his head on his bag again. 'Soon, Vardi,' he thought as he closed his eyes. 'Soon.'


	6. Hyrule Castle under Attack

Link had decided to wait patiently until he had a chance to enter the castle. He didn't have much else really pulling at him, so all was good with him. He WAS bored, however, and wanted something to do while he waited. So, he explored town a bit more extensively. He found many shops, restaurants, homes, and other things, including the Hylia River flowing southward through the western half of town. He also found the cathedral that the women had been talking about across from it. He stopped as he saw it.

It was MASSIVE, and it was both gorgeous and spooky. Enormous stained glass windows looked down at him, the Triforce symbol first and foremost on it. However, it looked quite old and nobody was inside after he cautiously opened the door to look in. In fact, there wasn't a candle alight. He noticed that there appeared to be a film of dust over many things.

"Oh? Are you looking for a church?"

Link jumped and looked around at the sudden voice. A kindly old man in a plain white robe smiled at him. "Sorry, there," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you. But this church..." He frowned worriedly at it. "It's been abandoned for many, many, many years-when I was only a toddling baby, in fact-after horrible rumors sprang up around it. Nobody goes into it anymore. People call it the Forsaken Cathedral, now." He shook his head. "It's a frightening place, but it's beautiful at the same time. Some have said it to be a testament to glass's beauty, what with all of its stained glass windows." He tilted his head as he noticed, "For some reason, even after all this time, the windows haven't gathered a mote of dust." He smiled again. "I can lead you to another church in town, if you so desire."

Link smiled and held his hands up. "I'm fine, but thank you very much," he said.

"Anytime, young man," the old man said before turning and hobbling down the steps.

Link looked back at the giant red doors of the cathedral. "Something feels...off about this church," he muttered. "Something...familiar." He turned and walked down the steps away from the church and went back to exploring the city.

He kept exploring, but he found nothing that he could do. Nobody wanted odd jobs done, and there weren't any places he could get a very temporary job. And, since the shooting gallery was apparantly down, he couldn't think of any way to even win money. He didn't want to waste time hanging around a place unless it was productive, so going to that Wall Racers place was out, sadly. He had nothing to do, but he wasn't going to leave Hyrule Castle Town before he got a look at the ring they had.

Around midday, he sighed in frustration as he sat at the fountain. He had just finished eating lunch at The Broken Rupee, but he had heard no good gossip, even. Boredom and impatience were gnawing at him. 'What could I possibly DO?' he thought. He saw a group of minstrils playing on pipes, drums, lute, violen, and vocals in the shade of a balcony by the castle gates. Some force made him forget the part about him not wanting to waste time unless it was productive as he stood up and walked over to watch and listen.

The minstrils were doing a ballad, one about a young girl who saved her home from being robbed blind through cleverness. When they finished, Link clapped along with the other people in the small audience that had gathered. Some of the people gave them rupees, tossing them into a hat. Link felt a bit obliged, so he donated 15 rupees to them.

"We're sorry, but it's time for us to take a break," said the singer, holding up brightly colored gloved hands. "Thank you for being such a great audience, though, thank you!" The other audience members dispersed, but Link, who had nothing better to do, just hung out, leaning on a pillar. As the musicians sat down to rest, the singer looked up at him. "We're done for a bit, and I don't think you'll want to tire out your legs waiting for us to come up again," he told him in a way that wasn't annoyed or shooing or anything, like some people are.

Link shrugged. "I really can't find anything else to do," he said.

The minstril raised an eyebrow. "Nothing to do, you say?" he asked. He motioned with his hands around town. "This is Hyrule Castle Town! You're BOUND to find SOMEthing to do."

"I've looked," Link said. "I just can't find anything. I'm just passing through, but I'm not leaving until I find an opportunity to see...something," he caught himself.

The minstrils looked at each other, wearing eyebrow-raised smirks, before looking back up at Link. "You're wanting to see that ring that's gotten everyone talking, aren't you?" asked the singer slyly.

Link started. "Eeerrrrrmm..." he said, trying to find a good lie why he wouldn't.

The minstril chuckled. "Don't worry your conical cap about it," he said, shaking his head and batting his hand. "But I've got bad news for you: The chances of anyone getting in during the day are nil. Quite nil, indeed." He shook his head sadly. "I'd fancy a gander, myself, but, alas, I'm simply a minstril. Not the best, either, though I do try, as do we all," he added, motioning to his cohorts.

Link nodded. "You did well from what I heard," he complimented.

The minstril smiled. "We did well, eh? Thank you, kind sir! Truth be told, we're just doing what we love in a way that might make us a rupee or two." He pulled in the hat and raised his eyebrows. "Not a bad haul, so far-we've gotten thirty rupees already."

Link frowned. "That's it? Are performers always this underpaid?" he asked.

The minstrils nodded. "Nobody really pays performers enough money for their services," said the singer, "but we do it anyway, because we just can't stop loving it. Especially true this is for us musicians. We are slaves to the magic that lies within notes and rhythms and, in my case, lyrics."

Link raised an eyebrow. "Magic? That's a way I've never heard it described before," he commented.

The singer grinned, nodding. "Oh, yes, yes, there's quite a bit of magic in music, not just the feeling it gives you," he said. "In quite a few legends, the hero involved has used music to help him in his quest. You'd be surprised what power simple tunes have when played to certain people or at certain places."

This guy was sounding happy, but it sounded like he believed what he was saying. "You're serious, aren't you?" Link asked, a bit curious.

The minstrils nodded vigorously. "Quite," the singer said. "One should never underestimate the power of music."

Link was curious, now. "What could I do with music if I played it on my journey?" he asked, crossing his arms.

The minstril tilted his head. "Music played on a journey? Why, it can do various effects. It could make a goron dance like an idiot or a murder of crows do coreographed moves in the air, or it could do more practical things, such as, if you discover the right melody and play it correctly, unlock a secret passage," he listed. "And, yes, I'm serious about that last one," he chuckled as Link widened his eyes at him. "It's just that you have to put your heart into it," he told him, waggling a finger. "Any fool can learn to play an instrument well. It takes a jester to play it extraordinarilly."

Link wondered at this metaphor for a second (he caught its drift, though). "Hmm...So you have to love music to make its magic work?" he asked.

The minstrils nodded. "Even a little bit helps if you put in some of yourself," the singer said. "Performance IS an art, after all. Think of the greatest swordsmen in Hyrule," he decided to examplify, noticing Link's sword and shield. "Compare them to common guards. Guards usually use swordsmanship just to fight, but true swordsmen put their hearts into it."

Link nodded. "Heck, yeah, they do," he said. "I learned from an excellent swordsman, and he loves every bit of what he does."

"Would you have learned as well had he not loved it?" asked the minstril. Link shook his head. "There you have it: the magic of music and the magic of swordsmanship. Both need the power of the user's heart, and both can commit amazing effects. Swordsmanship's magic can fell the toughest of opponents and defend one against insurmountable odds, and music's magic can do many things-including truly entertain. It's because of the transfer of your soul, your essence, into the world around you. Wonderful...or, conversely, dreadful...things can and will happen when you do that." The minstril smiled at his explaination.

Link thought for a moment. "I wonder if I should have spent some time practicing music when I was back home," he muttered. "I've always liked it...Thinking back now, it doesn't make much sense why I didn't pick it up at some point."

"Then how about now?"

"Huh?" Link looked up at the minstril. "Now? Uuuh...You want me to perform, or learn, or...?" He looked a bit taken by surprise.

The minstril chuckled. "Just try," he answered. He held his hand out to the pipes player, who gave him an ocarina. The singer held the ocarina up to Link. "Here's a simple instrument," he said. "It's been washed recently, don't worry," he told him. "Please! Go ahead and give it a go!"

Link took the ocarina and looked at it. It was shaped like a sweet potato, and it was made of porcilen. It was painted a pleasant, marbled tan and had a crisp Trifoce motif on the mouthpiece. He looked up at the pipe player, who nodded, smiling, before he held it, put his mouth to the piece, and closed his eyes. It almost seemed as if all around him had quieted down already.

"Good, you're holding it right, already!" the singer said. "Now, go ahead and blow." Link did, and an airy sound came from it at an off pitch. "Go ahead and experiment with it. Every time you move a finger or one of your thumbs off or onto a hole, you'll be making some sort of different sound. Try it and see if you like it."

Link did, blowning and fingering a few random positions. He heard a jumble of sounds, which made him want to laugh a bit, but he kept trying, seeing what happened when he moved his fingers with more thought. He liked the sound of the instrument and how easy he could make different sounds.

"So, you like it?" asked the singer. Link opened his eyes and nodded. "Alright! How about playing it for real..." He explained a few fingerings to Link, who promptly played them after learning them. "Okay, then play this tune..." The singer sang a simple, short, two-measure tune using the notes he taught Link on an "Ah" sound.

Link played them in perfect rhythm. He smiled at this. "That wasn't hard!" he said.

"You're not bad, for a beginner," said the singer. He thought for a moment before whispering with the piper. A moment later, he smiled up at Link. "You like that ocarina?" he asked. Link nodded. With a chuckle, the minstril said, "Then it's yours."

Link raised his eyebrows high. "You mean it?" he asked. The minstrils nodded. He smiled broadly and bowed. "Thank you," he said honestly.

"No problem!" said the singer. The piper handed him a sheet of parchment, which the singer handed to Link. "Here: It's a chart explaining the fingerings. Go ahead and find a place to practice, and have fun! We've got to get to performing again, now." He waved. "It was great fun meeting you, though! Come stop by our little shop, Sound of MuZach, once in a while!"

Link smiled and said goodbye and thank you again before moving off. He made his way to the other balcony, which was clear of people, sat down, and started practicing his new instrument. It took him a half hour to memorize all of the fingerings. He soon was able to play a chromatic scale in two octaves up and down after another half hour of practice. He grinned after he played the scales and looked at the instrument. "I've got a bit of a knack for this," he said happily. "I wonder what kinds of melodies I could learn...?"

Across the square, the singer smiled at him.

**...**

That late afternoon, the lizalfos got within a good range of the town that they could get there pretty quickly in one night and still have time to do things there. They hid in the bushes before their armor revealed them due to shininess. "Alright," the chief said after they had gotten to safety. "The plan is this: After a spy of ours has gone in and caused a distraction to divert the guards' attention, we'll get inside by climing up the back. Well, at least, a special squad of us will; there are too many of us to all go. Five of us will go, not including Samba."

Samba perked up his head at the mention of his name. "Me?" he asked.

"Yes, you're quite important in this plan," the chief told him, smirking, "so listen up. Now, Samba has to go inside the castle until he reaches the room to find what we need. They've been guarding it jealously for a while now, and it's not difficult to find the place with the highest level of security in that place. I have faith in you, Samba, that you can handle it. Besides," he added, scoffing, "most of the hylians in that town are dead scared of us. Unless they have ranged weapons, they'll be no problem for your skills. The rest of you are going to provide backup. Samba needs to get to the item, take it, and escape as soon as possible. Know that if you take too long, Samba, we won't wait for you," he warned him. "I'll just have to find another warrior who can pull off as remarkable a feat as you have."

Samba knew that that wasn't really going to be possible. He gulped and nodded. "I understand, sir," he said with acted confidence.

"You'd better. Who is up for this task of infiltrating Hyrule Castle?" asked the chief. "...No, Drejsk, you'll break the rope we're using to get up with your weight alone...Alright, then, you, you, you, you, and you." He pointed to each in turn. One of the men he picked was Thyu, who still looked a little bored. He ALWAYS looked bored, actually. "We'll remain here. Samba, escape the way you came or, if that's become blocked, any way you can. Take care of-"

"I've known that since yesterday morning, chief," Samba interrupted. "I will take care of anyone who gets in my way."

The chief humphed at the interruption, but paid it no heed. "Good. Now, let us all rest. We've a long night ahead."

They all settled down to rest. Samba wondered if they would be discovered, but the cover they used was tall and shielded them from sight, even from the highest parapet of the castle. Samba wondered what it was he should find, too. The golden Ring of Dualty! That was it! 'Ko said that one of the rings of the main ring was in Hyrule Castle,' he recalled. 'I have the silver one, and, from the sounds of it, that other guy's got the bronze one. I wonder...' He paused a moment before he continued his thought. '...should I try and give the hylians my ring? That might be wise, since whatever those rings can do might not be good if the side of us monsters get them all. For all I know, if someone wears the rings and becomes some mega-Leviathan, whoever is allied to them has the power to control them! The castle'd make sure NOBODY would try that, so I might want to give mine to them.' He looked like he was sure and was about to fall asleep before something else came to his mind.

'...But...the chief would see through any explaination I'd give for why I don't have either their ring or mine, and he'd just send more of us to get them, not to mention he'll kill Vardi, for sure, for my foiling of his plan...but...' He clenched a fist, biting his lip a bit. 'Ko, you told me to think for myself...' He switched sides while lying on his bag as a pillow again. '...but one of the reasons I don't is because I'm never sure about what I think of doing...'

**...**

Night fell. Link was in the village square again, waiting for something to happen. He was the only one there, apart from the guards by the gates. 'If only they could leave their posts for just a second,' he thought. 'Then I could go in and hide before they got back.' He hid in the shadow of the balcony he had been playing his new ocarina under earlier that afternoon. He then noticed a cloaked figure walking through the plaza. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at it in curiousity. 'Who's that?' he wondered.

The figure looked around cautiously as it went. It stopped in the center of the part of the plaza in front of the gates and between the balconies. It paused for a second, raising its body and lowering it again as if breathing in and out deeply. Then, it took its ha-wait. Were those hands? That didn't look like the right number of fingers...Regardless, it brought out a bow and an arrow with something like a small bedroll wrapped around it. It snapped its fingers over a string sticking from the something attatched to the arrow before quickly nocking it, aiming up over to the castle, and firing.

The guards weren't stupid. They had seen all of this and were calling its attention. "Oi! OI! What are you doing with that? Hey!" one called. They moved away from the gate, going towards it. Then, after it had fired, they ran towards it. "What are you doing?" demanded the guard.

As soon as the figure had fired, however, it turned and ran as fast as it could. It appeared to be hopping off as it ran out of the plaza.

The guards started to chase, but they were already too far from their posts. So, wearing worried expressions as they mumbled something about how they might lose their jobs, they turned around and walked back...

...just as a loud, bright display of fireworks erupted in the air above the castle. Every guard turned and ran to investigate, except the ones at the gate, who simply stopped to watch from a distance.

"Oooooh, nevermind," said one. "I doubt that we'll get fired for letting someone launch some fireworks over the castle."

"I dunno what the occasion is," the other guard said, "but does anyone really care when they're setting off fireworks, these days?"

"...Though, this IS disturbing the peace," mumbled the first after a moment's thought.

"You think we'll get fired, then?" the other asked.

The first thought for a couple of seconds before shaking his head. "Nah," he decided. "They'll at most scold us, I think."

"Oh, well," said the second, shrugging. He leaned on his spear. "At least they're pretty good," he commented.

"Yeah, for a small case of them that we saw that guy have," added the first, doing the same.

"Must be magic, then," the second deduced.

"OOO-oooooh, goodie! That means this is gonna take a while!" the first laughed, rubbing his guantleted hands together.

Right before the guards had turned around to return to their posts, though, Link pressed up against the wall at the opposite end of the gate, heart pounding. 'I'm crazy,' he thought before sneaking around the wall and quickly entering the other gates at the end of the little courtyard after making sure the guards didn't see him.

**...**

"That's the signal! Go!" the chief said, motioning to Samba and his "bodyguards" to get going. They had been innocently traipsing around, moderately separate, among the other monsters around the field at night, blending in just about perfectly. They stayed a good distance from the castle, but they had their shield arms ready to rise at a moment's notice. When the fireworks began, the guards at the walls had turned and ran to see what the hell was going on. As soon as they had, the lizalfos moved in.

Six of them, one of them Samba (the only one without anything tied to his tail), ran to the wall carrying grappling hooks. A moat separated them from the wall, but they had strong arms and long ropes. They threw their hooks up and caught the top of the wall. After tugging to make sure their holds were strong, they jumped up to grab a good spot on the rope and swung down to the wall. They barely cleared the water, but they began rapelling as soon as they could, gathering rope with them as they went.

When they reached the top of the wall, they dashed to the point where the rear entrance was and put their hooks down again. They slid down the ropes and jumped off as soon as it was safe before running into the building, abandoning their hooks for sake of speed.

**...**

Link made it to the front entrance with little difficulty, since the fireworks were distracting everyone. 'So far, so good,' he thought. 'Thank you, Mysterious Cloaked Figure!' He walked inside cautiously.

**...**

Before each party was the same view: A few grand doors at the end of a vast hall. Two red-carpeted staircases, one on each side, went to an upper floor. Only the guards on the left had remained posted.

And both parties were seen.

**...**

"GO!" ordered Samba as everyone drew their swords and raced out to attack. As the chief had said, the sissy-ass guards were scared stiff of them, and most ran away from the crowd. The few that stayed to fight or cower were easily taken care of. Nobody even bothered to take a life.

Link didn't have it so easy. "Hey!" shouted a guard at the foot of the staircase, pointing at Link. "What are you doing in here? HOW'D you get in here? Leave now!"

Link had come too far. He narrowed his eyes. "Not until I see that ring." he said. "I mean no harm. Just let me see it, and I won't have to see it by force." His patience had worn thin at this point and he was now ready to fight his way through.

"Well, then, you'll have to try that other option," said the guard, drawing his sword. Link drew his and the two faced each other. Link was lucky that his opponent wore armor, otherwise he'd feel very wrong right now in attacking a man who's only doing his job. He actually didn't have to work very hard. He dodged one attack, launched a four-slash combo on the chainmail-wearing guard, and found himself looking at a guard who lay on the ground, holding up a hand and saying, "Spare me!" cowardly.

Link rolled his eyes. 'Oh, BROTHER...' He faced the other one, however, and fought him. He had to fight differently, since his opponent had a spear, this time. He took two steps up the staircase before dealing with two more of them at once. After all four had gone down, he ran to the normal-style door, turned the knob, and opened it, going inside and finding...

A hallway stretched in front of Samba and his group past the door. They found the doorway with the (literally) heaviest guard and ran forward. They knocked out the other cowards that populated the hallway and engaged in battle with the two burlier, braver guards in front of the door they needed to go through. Samba had to avoid their hits before executing a good combo on one of them. They took them quite well with their armor on and everything, but blunt force from a strong tail and a pair of big, powerful blue feet was another thing. Samba made sure his strongest blows of his combo, the third and forth hits, were unarmed combat moves, often jumping and kicking in the head (as much as it hurt his feet to slam into metal). After they had been defeated, his group opened the doors and went through to find...

Link, after a hard battle with the guards in the hallway, opened the more-ornate doors into what looked like a D-shaped room-him facing the straight part-with a spiral staircase going up and left around the wall. A wall separated him from the other party. He found that a guard had been positioned up the stairs every twenty steps. Groaning, he went and avoided them as much as he could, launching a single combo on each one he couldn't run from. He ended up having to deal with all of the ones that came after him from the stairs whenever he had to pause and fight, so he decided to just run up, dodge, and combo the standard-issue, spear- or sword-wielding guards. 'Remind me never to sign up for these positions so that I wouldn't have to deal with my co-workers being cowards...' He then mused, 'I think I see what that minstril was talking about, before.'

Samba and his posse were able to just plow through as normal, roaring a warcry as they went. "This is too easy!" Samba said. (By the way, he had been, indeed, muttering an apology in Hylian before knocking out every guard he dealt with personally.) He spoke too soon, though, as more guards, braver ones, began coming down. He gritted his teeth and had to deal with them first. After a time, he was getting annoyed since they were blocking him from his goal and they weren't all that fun.

"Samba! Go on! We'll handle these guys!" called Thyu, bringing the rest of the group up. Thyu was actually an excellent warrior, and he loved combat as much as Samba and Drejsk. He was also a pretty fast lizalfos, too, which balanced out the duo of him and Drejsk fairly well. He wore a basic warrior's garb, so he risked himself a lot for the sake of speed. The guards had yet to land a blow on him, though.

Samba grunted and blocked a blow. "Hang on," he said, and waited until he was getting slashed vertically at. With a precise movement, he ducked to the side, avoiding it just barely. In fact, it cut the strings holding his extra armor onto him. Now without that annoying weight on him, he was at full speed and jumping ability again. He utilized this and jump-kicked the guard ("Thanks and sorry!") before running on, shouting back, "THANK YOU!" He was able to escape the group of guards and made his way to the top.

"No problem!" Thyu called back. He readied his sword and buckler. "Alright, then, boys, let's get going!" he rallied his comrades, and the battle continued.

Link had to fight his way through, too, and was getting a bit testy. "I have to get through while this chaos is still going, otherwise the other guards are going to come back and I'm completely outnumbered!" he muttered after he was clear of guards on the stairs. A thought struck him, suddenly. 'Wait...what if the guys who made that distraction are here and they're trying to steal the ring?' Cursing, he ran to the top. The steps ended and a new room opened up around him. It curved around to the right around the wall in a corridor. From the accoustics, it didn't sound like a simple corridor, though, and neither did it look it; the wall to his right was different from the one on his left. It was like the left was the edge of the maze while the right was a wall in the maze. He ran down this corridor and met a wall about halfway around, opening to a sharp right turn. The "inside" wall, now on his left, continued on, having a break in the center (which contained a pair of guards standing still and looking panicked at the two fierce swordsmen appearing at the same time), to the opposite wall. In front of him, he saw a set of stairs dead-ahead...and a line of guards.

Both impatient warriors bared their teeth and charged. The wall hid each from view of the other. "Get out-" Samba growled in Hylian, raising his sword, flattening the blade out to be parallel to the floor.

"-of my-" Link continued, winding up his sword behind his back and jumping forwards.

"-WAY!" both roared as they suddenly skidded onto one foot(paw) and spun around in a quick, five-rotation Hurricane Spin Attack across the hall. As they came to the center, the guards there ducked while their blades clashed, making some sparks fly while the swords met like the teeth of two interlocking gears. As the spin stopped, both warriors shook their heads to clear them (Link clearing it first because he was more used to spin attacks) and raced upstairs after muttering, "Sorry," over their shoulder. When they were both gone, the guards looked at their buddies on the ground, knocked unconscious by the two, and then at each other.

"It was like..." one began.

"...they were in sync," the other finished.

Both looked to a staircase in amazement.

Link raced up the second set of the switchback stairs and finally reached the final doors. "Let this be it...!" he hoped before roaring, "OUTTA MY WAY! I'M IN A FOUL MOOD!" to the guards. They looked at each other nervously before stepping apart, letting him through. Link blinked in surprise. "Uh...Thanks," he said as he plowed past them and opened the doors. He gasped and smiled in delight as he saw what was in front of him. He walked towards it.

"MOVE, please!" shouted Samba as he went up the final set of stairs. He used Hylian instead of his native tongue.

The guards started at this, looked at each other, shrugged, and gladly stepped aside, as well.

Samba, too, blinked in surprise. "Reh?...Erm, thanks...?" he muttered as he finally got through the doors. He gaped as he saw what came in front of him.

He saw a light blue, circular room lit by candles. White pillars bordered the chamber. A stained glass window on the left, southern side faced out and had the image of the Triforce above the symbol of the hylians: the Hyrule Eagle that adorns the Hylian Shield and many other things hylian-related. A single doorway apart from the one across from him was to the lizalfos's right. A tall, broad, white stone pedestal stood in the center underneath a small roof with a gilt pillow atop it. It was like a shrine of sorts. On this pillow sat a plain-looking golden ring with a triangular sapphire in it.

'That's GOT to be it!' "The Ring of Dualty!"

Link got there before Samba did, and he had already approached it, pretty much hidden behind the pedestal, when Samba busted in. He heard the same words he'd just spoken escape his lips in Hylian and gasped quietly. 'Someone IS trying to steal it!' he concluded. He narrowed his eyes and waited for a second, catching his breath, before he got ready.

Samba gaped. 'No way...No WAY...like my dreams...' He shook his head, closing his mouth, and hoped that what he had dreamed wouldn't come true. He took two steps. 'I've GOT to take a good look at this before I decide what I'm going to do...' He had taken one more step when a shadowy figure stepped out from behind the pedestal. Samba stopped short, dropping his jaw a little again, and muttered. "...You're kidding..." in his native tounge. 'JUST LIKE MY DREAM!'

Link stepped out, sword drawn, and was admittedly surprised when he saw a single lizalfos in front of him. He was a bit more surprised when he saw that it was blue. 'Are they normally blue like this?' he wondered. 'I'd thought they were green...Well, lizards can be practically any color they want, so...' He held his sword down, ready to get into stance. "So, you're the one making all the chaos," he said.

Samba gasped a bit, stepping back as the figure revealed itself, before growling. "And you're the one I've been wanting to fight..." he muttered in his language, lowering his head and looking up at Link. Crouching for combat, he said, "Partly," in Hylian, surprising Link as the green-clad swordsman's assumption was revealed as true. "I'm only here to see the ring; nothing more." He twirled his sword, tail twitching to and fro.

Link twirled his. "Really," he said, crouching for combat as well. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe you. I'M the one who's just here to see it. You're here to steal it, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm SUPPOSED to, but you're thinking of doing that, yourself, aren't you?" Samba replied, raising an eyeridge.

The two faced each other for a second. The guards who had let them in peeked through the open doors and squeaked in fright before shutting them. They opened them a bit again, though, to poke their heads through and watch, lifting their visors.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the lizalfos quintet had cleared the turning staircase and were racing to catch up to Samba, Thyu grabbing his armor as he passed by it. They were surprised when they found only two cowering guards were left standing in the next room. Thyu, the new leader of the group and therefore first, blinked in surprise at this before giving a questioning glance to the two standing at their posts, shaking in fear. He tilted his head curiously and opened his mouth, about to ask something, when the guards pointed down the way of the stairs Samba had gone up. The lizalfos trotted off, taking advantage of the fact that they had no opposition left. When they reached the top of the next stairs, they found two guards looking through the doors.

Thyu tilted his head, even more puzzled, as they met this sight. One of the guards heard them coming and turned his head. He raised his eyebrows at them. "Woah! More of them!" he whispered to his partner, who turned to look and raised his eyebrows as well.

In a hoarse whisper, the second guard told them, "One of your guys came through here and it looks like he's gonna fight this blonde guy in green over that ring we've all been guarding. We let him through not just because he asked, but if anyone can get through all the other guards, what's the point? Anyway, they're still busy with the dramatic calm-before-the-storm staredown. Could you please let us watch it before you try to kill us?" he asked nicely.

Thyu raised his eyeridges at this information. Believe it or not, he knew a fair bit of Hylian, himself; he learned it indirectly by sneaking over and eavesdropping on Samba and Ko during lessons sometimes when he was bored. (He thought Ko was a coot, but he was secretly thankful of that.) "Uh...I guess," he said back in Hylian uncertainly before turning to the other four. "Guys, Samba's at the thing the chief wants and is about to have a huge fight over it!" he told them in his first language. Everyone, interested to see why their chief liked Samba so much, raised their eyeridges and looked intrigued. Thyu turned back to the humans and tilted his head curiously. The guards looked at them, then each other, then them again.

Within moments, the door Samba had passed through was full of seven faces looking in-two human guards looking from the bottom and a stack of lizalfos going up from them. Thyu sat on the shoulders of one and formed the top. He felt a little silly with the whole scene (but knew they couldn't sate their curiousity otherwise), so he was relieved when he saw that some of the guards from below had come to and were doing the exact same thing on the other side.

The two in the room, ignoring this all, continued to wait for the first strike from the other. Then, without warning, the two sprang out at each other at the same time. Link, the hylian lefty with amazing swordsmanship and good overall athletic abilities, not to mention a couple useful items, on one side. Samba, the lizalfos righty with great swordsmanship and excellent lower body-centered abilities, not to mention a nice spell and one heck of an arm, on the the other. They met in a clash, and the battle began.

They pushed against each other for a while, one trying to overpower the other, before Samba eventually won. He swung, but he missed. Link had sidejumped. Samba turned to slash him again, but Link dived into a roll that went all the way around him in a circle before rising in a spinning slash across his back. Samba roared at the pain and turned around, slapping Link back with his tail. 'I'm going to skip that part in my dream where I did everything but my own style,' the monster decided before charging.

Link skidded back and clashed his sword against his. He threw his arm to the side and managed a couple slashes before Samba blocked with his buckler. Samba countered by parrying his fourth sword slash and launching a couple slashes himself. Link blocked the third slash, too, but before he could parry a sword slash, as well, the hylian was surprised by a mighty jumping kick to his face with large feet. He was blown backwards onto his back. He rolled to the side and rose in a horizontal slash, striking.

Samba was hit by it in the side, and he grunted in pain as he raised his buckler to block the sword swings. He took a quick stab after making Link's sword bounce back. He missed and was met by a spin attack. He was blown back, too, and he winced as he got up. The two panted at each other for a second before, with a yell, running to each other and meeting in a difficult, fast, amazing swordfight, sparks flying as metal met metal.

Both fighters had a bit of a disadvantage because the other was a mirror image in the way they held their weapons. They were able to get a good clashing party going on, though, full of slashes, strikes, parries, and blocks. Samba's secret weapon, his kicking, never had a good chance to be used. Likewise, Link never found a chance to back off and stun Samba with his boomerang or deku nuts. Neither let the other alone long enough to use their projectiles. On both sides of the room, their audience watched in wonder and awe at the battle.

The two clashed and slashed, getting in a hit now and then. Then, after a full minute, Link was able to get in a full combo, vertical, horizontal, stab, spin attack. Samba flew away, getting up slowly and in great pain. Then, with a roar, he charged, waled his sword, two-pawed, into Link's to knock it away for a moment so that he could get in a combo as well-vertical, stab, horizontal, reverse hook kick to the jaw. Link flew away as well, getting up slowly and in great pain as well.

The two met in one more clash, another, and then both slashed a mighty horizontal at each other simultaneously, knocking them both back. They paused to catch their breath for a moment. Bloody, wheezing, and barely able to grip their swords, they realized that they were both on their last heart. No pots, grass, or rocks in sight, either. Link had forgotten about the fairy still in his bottle (I wonder how those things can survive in there for more than even a few minutes without air...). They looked at each other for a moment, looking into the eyes of their adversary.

Link stared into the slitted pupils of a monster.

Samba stared into the round pupils of a hylian.

And both stared into the fierce pupils of a warrior. They thought, 'This is the best fight I've ever had in my life,' despite their pain and anger towards the other for getting in their way of the ring.

With a few more pants, Link raised his sword again, starting to circle. Samba did as well. They paced and waited, each ready to counterattack the other's charge. A full ten seconds passed before they gave up and charged at each other at the same time.

Link raised his sword and swung, a mighty yell coming from his throat, blonde hair and green cap fluttering behind him as he raced.

Samba raised his sword and swung, a great roar coming from his maw, metal armor and buckler flashing the light of the candles while he moved in.

Every lizalfos and guard watching gasped and held their breath, the outcome of the battle about to be decided.

"STOOOP!"

The two swords stopped a hair away from each other. Fighter and spectator alike turned their heads to the sound of the voice and gasped at the same time.

From around the pedestal to the swordsmen and around a pillar at the wall by the door for the audience, they all saw her with her half-bicep-length-gloved hand outstretched, palm out. Princess Zelda, dressed in her full formal outfit, was standing by the third door mentioned before, looking as if she had just run in. She looked about sixteen. "I will NOT have any more blood needlessly shed upon the floor of this castle," she said, breathing a bit heavily. She slowly lowered her arm. "Enough is enough. It is apparant, besides," she added, a wry smile flitting on her face, "that you two are, though different in style, equals in combat. The only way this could end would have likely been a draw with neither surviving. And that, I must stress, canNOT occur." She began walking over to them. "Step away from each other and come around the pedestal," she ordered, though it was a bit more gentle than most orders. Her voice was still firm, however.

Link and Samba looked at each other for a moment, blinking in surprise while they panted, before, slowly, standing up straight and backing away. They looked at each other for a moment.

"Sheathe your blades. There shall be no more fighting tonight." She stopped a few feet from the pedestal.

The two looked at their blades, then at each other once more. They then saluted each other by sheathing their swords in their fancy ways. The ring of both blades returning to their sheathes at the exact same time echoed off of the walls.

The guards and lizalfos dropped their jaws without opening their mouths, making their faces long (or longer) and their lips squeezed, for a moment. "They ARE in sync," muttered one of the two guards who had come from below.

As Link and Samba turned to face Zelda, the princess looked at the faces peeking through on either side and shook her head. "Guards. Lizalfos." Both parties tensed at their addressal. "Return from whence you came, or, at least, close the doors," she ordered. "I am glad that you have decided to stop fighting if only to watch, but I need to speak to these two alone. This is very important. When you go, I request that you please tell nobody of this fight and fight with each other no more, for now."

Everyone jumbled, many falling down on top of each other, as they raced to close the doors as ordered by the princess. Then, when the doors had been shut again, they all looked at each other, blinking, before they pressed their ears to the doors. All they could hear were mumbles from through the heavy wood, so they decided to, reluctantly (since this would still have been some serious gossip, even if it was between only themselves), leave. Indeed, the two door guards agreed to accompany Thyu and his group while they left the castle peacefully.

"You know, you guys aren't that bad," complemented one of the guards as the group walked down the stairs.

Thyu shrugged. "Yes, being descended from a tribe that settled into a well-organized village community ages ago can do that to a race," he said. "Just don't expect us to be goody-two-footpaws. I mean, hey, we're still monsters, after all." He grinned as he said this part.

The guard shrugged. "I know, I know," he said. "I was just expecting you guys to be less open to peace, that's all."

Thyu scoffed. "Hey, one of the advantages of getting smarter is recognizing different ways to survive," he said. "Sure, we're probably not gonna get what our chief wanted us to get, but Samba's gotta handle that and we were told to come back if he didn't in time and ditch him, anyway, so it's no scales of OUR backs." He frowned as he looked over his shoulder back at the closed doors. 'Just...don't make us leave you for long, blue boy,' he thought.

When they were finally alone, Link, Samba, and Zelda stood and faced each other. Zelda took a deep breath and exhaled it before she began. "First, tell me who you are." She pointed to Link.

"Link," he introduced himself.

"Link," Zelda repeated, and she moved her hand to point at Samba, "and...?"

Samba looked away nervously. He wanted out. He was stuck with no way to get back to the chief. 'What do I do?' he wondered. 'If I don't return with the ring...But...I can't do anything...What? What should I do?' He then rembered something Ko said: _"Whatever you do, don't take anything said to you directly from Princess Zelda for granted. Listen to her. She is descended from a line of princesses who have borne the Triforce of Wisdom. If she asks you a favor, I'd do it."_ Samba clenched his fist and nodded. 'At this point, it's all I can do,' he reasoned, and, after looking back again, he said, in Hylian, "My name is Samba."

Zelda didn't appear surprised at the intelligence. "Link and Samba," she said, tasting the names as she lowered her arm. "Now, tell me...why are you here? Link, you first." She looked seriously at him.

Link gulped at this. 'I'm getting busted by the princess of Hyrule!' he thought. He nodded, though, resolute. "I came here because I wanted to see the ring here," he said truthfully. "I was getting a bit impatient, so I started to sneak in. The chaos began, though, and I had to fight my way up here. I was fighting Samba because I didn't want it to steal the ring, which I think would be a bad thing."

Zelda nodded. "And Samba?" she asked.

Samba gave a glare to Link first. "I am male, thank you very much," he spat. Then, to Zelda he began, "I-" but he hesitated.

"The truth," Zelda ordered firmly. "It's always best to tell the truth."

Samba was astounded at the power in her gaze and voice. 'She could put the chief to shame,' he thought. 'But, then, of course; she's the princess of all Hyrule.' He started again, "I am here to retrieve something for my chief. He didn't tell me what, but I've known for a long time that the Ring of Dualty is what he seeks." He hesitated before he continued on, "Truth be told, however...while I was sent to steal the ring, I have seriously been having second thoughts. Before deciding anything, I wanted to see if this is the ring I thought it was."

Zelda nodded. "So you both know what that is, then?" she asked, looking at the ring on the pillow. They nodded. "The golden Ring of Dualty, also known as Nayru's Ring of Dualty." She paused for a moment before asking, "You know what happens if you put on the ring, don't you?" They nodded slowly. "How? Did someone tell you...or is it from personal experience?" Zelda added that second part in a quieter voice.

Both swordsmen were visibly surprised at the obviously-educated guess, but they closed their open mouthes and stood straight before nodding seriously.

Zelda bowed her head. "I see." She raised her head after a moment and asked, "Then you two have seen the other rings, haven't you?"

Samba simply nodded, but Link looked unsure. Then, after a moment, they watched as he dug in his pocket. Eyebrows and eyeridges raised as he brought out the bronze Ring of Dualty. Samba looked at this for a moment before he nodded resolutely. He dug in his pebble bag and brought out the silver Ring of Dualty. Both held their rings in their dominant palms out to Zelda.

She looked a little surprised at this before giving a small giggle. "No, I'm wrong," she said. "You HAVE the other rings." She shook her head and looked at them in the eyes. "From what you've answered, am I right in assuming that you had to face a challenge with a Leviathan of Material to get your respective rings?" The two nodded. "Really. I'd like to know how, if you don't mind," Zelda said, crossing her arms as the two lowered their arms, still holding their rings in their hand/paw.

Link nodded and recounted his story: "I braved the Forest of Peril in order to stop a thief who had made off with the entire till from our shop that my grandfather and I run, Bardin's Bargins, in my home village of Kochyrae. I had to endure its puzzles and battles before I found the key to the door I saw the thief enter-the same one that led to the Leviathan of Wood, Ruedekul. After Ruedekul betrayed the thief, who, sadly, turned out to be a friend of mine, it tried to kill us both. While my friend was incapacitated with a broken swordarm, I went and fought Ruedekul myself. I had no clue about what it had, fighting only to save myself and my friend, but, after a tough battle that carried on through to the early morning, I finally defeated it using my sword, shield, and the magical item I found within the depths of the Leviathan's lair-ironically using the very same material that it claimed to be the master of in all three cases." He chuckled a bit and looked at his sword as Samba and Zelda widened their eyes at the implication that he won by using a WOODEN sword. "Trust me, I still have trouble believing it," he said, holding up his right hand and shaking his head. "But it wasn't easy, let me tell you. I'm certain that if my friend had given me his metal sword, which I carry now, instead of that wooden sword for training usage, things would have gone a lot faster. Regardless, I took the Ring of Dualty and, after talking with my friend and my grandfather, decided that I should leave my home to protect it."

"From what-the effect of the ring when you put it on, or from the rumors of monsters banding together to find it?" Zelda asked. Samba looked at her with an impressed look on his face. 'She's the descendent of the holders of the Triforce of Wisdom, indeed!'

Link was surprised, too. 'I swear, she can read minds!' "The latter," he replied. "My friend says he has a lizalfos friend named Ko, who he talked to and lear-"

"WHAT?" Samba interrupted, turning to face Link. "A lizalfos named Ko?"

Link had that uneasy look that you might get when someone does that to you and you weren't expecting it. "Uuuuhhh...yeah," he said. He then caught on. "Wait, you're a lizalfos, too! Do you mean you know him?" he asked.

Samba nodded. "Of COURSE!" he replied. "He's the only teacher of Hylian in our village-he taught me and my sister, and he told me one day that a human friend he sometimes talked to said that one of the Rings of Dualty was taken by a friend of his. He was talking about YOU!" He pointed in amazement at Link. "I'll be grachin' damned!...Lizalfos curse," he explained after a pair of blank looks.

Link couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I guess it's a smaller world than I thought," he commented. "But anyway, yeah, your friend Ko warned Betta, my friend, about the monster uprising. From the fact that you're here, I see it's true," he added with a bit of grim humor in his voice.

Samba sighed, nodding. Zelda nodded at them. "Thank you, Link," she said. "Now, what about you, Samba?" she asked.

Samba nodded. "Well, as Link said, Ko knew about the little 'uprising' our chief is a part of," he began. "He's actually a very good person, Ko, even better than most of us other lizalfos. Only my sister and mother can match him in that, at least that I know." He left out any comment about himself, hoping that they percieved it as modesty. "He told me and Vardi, my little sister, about the Rings of Dualty, which he referred to as shards of a single, powerful item, and how one of them was quite close to our village, Jgk'hry. It was inside of a place that is feared by many of our village, a cave known as the Empty Cavern. I bet our chief wanted to get it at some point soon, so, when the date of many of the adult males' departure to here-I was fairly sure I was included, but recent events completely ensured it-was only a couple days away, he exiled Rargon, the father of Vardi's best friend, Rakeh, to the cave. The next night, Vardi secretly joined Rakeh and her mother on a quest to bring Rargon some food and water. I woke up in the middle of the night after having a dream-which I want to get to later-and, after following my instincts to check on the person my mother entrusted me to protect and discovering she wasn't there, I grabbed my stuff, a bit of bread, and raced to save her before she got killed. All in all, all I had to defend myself with were my tail, feet, buckler, bag of pebbles for throwing, and a practice sword that was really just a longish, thin piece of metal that has a flattened part to simulate a sword blade."

Link raised his eyebrows. "You went in with a fake weapon, too?" he asked in disbelief. 'This is getting scary...'

Samba nodded and continued. "So, like Link, I wasn't in the Empty Cavern to find the Ring of Dualty, but I was there to do something important to me; in my case, it was rescuing my sister from certain death. After I got midway through the Empty Cavern-which isn't empty at all, what with all the things in there that HAD to have been put there by people, like chain-hung platforms, weird doors, and COMPLETELY MARBLE ROOMS-I fought and saved a posessed Rargon. Together, he and I-though I did most to all of the work-worked our way through the rest of the cavern, braving the enemies and puzzles put there before we, too, found the key to the Leviathan's chamber." He paused, then shrugged and tilted his head to the sides while adding, "Well, alright, first I found the key, but then I had to go and finish this one major puzzle I'd put down because I was intimidated by the looks of the last room it involved on my map, but I had to solve it then and found a gear that I needed for the door to work." He continued normally, "After that, we went to the chamber of the Leviathan of Stone, Krungratrg. That guy was nuts, I tell you. We had to go there because that's where we smelled our family members had gone. I had to figure out a way to kill him after Rargon, who had been possessed by Krungratrg before, got knocked out just about right away..." He groaned. "Sorry, but I'm still annoyed that I had to go through getting the key and gear in the first place, since Rargon is over eight feet tall, all muscle, and could have probably taken down the door with a good punch, but NOOOOOO, he had to let his fear overcome his desire to save his family..." He shook his head. "Regardless, I now bet I couldn't've avoided a fight, so I fought Krungratrg and defeated him, cheating death in the process through a fairy I bottled outside the entrance to his lair. I used a spell I found in the same room as the one I fought the possessed Rargon in. The spell's called Fire Pebble, and it will make any pebble I throw-something that's already been compared to an arrow, not to brag-cause a large spark on impact. I used that spell as well as my sword and buckler, hence the dents, to defeat him. I saved my sister, Rargon's family was reunited with him after he woke up, and I found the Ring of Dualty." He held it out again.

"But that's not all: After I got out of the Empty Cavern, I was confronted by my chief, who took everyone I at least helped save from the dungeon captive and said that if I didn't follow his orders, he'd order Vardi to be killed, and I suspect he'll do something to Rargon's family. Not just that, he's going to use poor Rargon as a test subject for increasing one's size using excess amounts of our main and most important export: lizaflorenized blue potion, which is normal blue potion enhanced with the same kind of medicinal herbs that saved my ancestors' lives when they founded Jgk'hry, lizafloren. Not only does it work like normal blue potion, it even heals wounds recieved after you drink it for a few minutes! It also enhances growth if excessively drank, and I guess some may think Rargon, who has the chance to secretly drink it a lot since he works at the place in our village where it's made, is getting what he deserves. I don't, though. And I don't think our chief is being a good chief by holding loved ones hostage in order for his people to do his bidding." He clenched a fist. "My mother ordered me to look after Vardi, and I'm not doing a good job. I'm worried that if I don't follow my chief's orders, he's going to kill Vardi. If there's one person I don't ever want to fail, it's my mother, let alone the fact that I don't want my sister to die. But..." He looked at his ring. "If I give the chief the Rings of Dualty, I know something horrible will happen, won't it?"

"Yes, something horrible WILL happen," Zelda said. Before she continued, she gave a wry smile and commented, "For a lizalfos who learned Hylian as a second language, I've got to admit-not only is it very good, but you're quite talkative, too."

Samba blushed and squeaked. "W-Well, it's just...well, I've been through a lot, and I guess I just wanted to let it all out," he flustered. "Sorry if I ended up boring you! I'm usually not such a waggletounge!" He put a paw behind his head.

Zelda smiled. "That's alright," she said. "Besides, you had to talk a lot more than Link because it seems your reason was more complex. You told me what I wanted, though, and I thank you for that. I'm certain, now, that both of you are telling the truth and that you got those rings yourselves," she said, face turning serious again. They both held up their rings. "Samba, you're right in thinking that something horrible will occur if all three are collected and put in the wrong hands...or paws, in your case. What will happen is, eventually, Hyrule will be doomed to fall to evil. And I'm not saying it will fall to whoever has it-I'm just saying it will, and it just might include that recieving party."

The two swordsmen looked at each other for a moment before they looked at the rings. "So these will cause the downfall of Hyrule?" Link asked.

Zelda shook her head. "No, not them directly," she said. "You see, the godesses created those rings as a way to allow Hyrule to be saved should an evil so powerful, one person alone cannot defeat it. Thus, if that evil comes and the rings are in the wrong hands, nobody will be able to stop it."

"What about an army?" Link asked.

Zelda shook her head again. "No army could defeat this evil," she said. "This sort of evil is the same type that has threatened Hyrule time and again..." She looked up to the stained glass window. "The same kind of evil that has been struck down by the Legendary Hero." She looked at Link and Samba. "This hero has often weilded one eternal weapon that only he has the power to hold." She looked like she was waiting to see if they knew.

Samba was the first to come up with the name. "The Blade of Evil's Bane," he said. "Otherwise known as the Master Sword. The same weapon that has slain countless people of my race. I admit," he said, holding up a paw, "I hold a sort of grudge to that."

"Recall that you are intelligent and calmer, whereas, no offence, the others of your kind are more...well, monstrous," Zelda reminded him. "Your village is full of those who bear enough wisdom to perhaps, someday, form a good relationship with the rest of Hyrule, whereas the others of your kind try to kill practically anything they see. Your grudge comes out of a belief that your kind is unfairly oppressed, but your kind, specifically, is a small group that, frankly, not many people even know about, and the rest are, frankly, deserving of death if death is all they wish."

Samba blinked at this as it sank in. "Well, I'll be," he muttered. "You've got one heck of a point, there." (She DOES have one, right...?)

Zelda nodded. "Thank you. Anyway, as I have said, the Master Sword has had but one wielder throughout time: The Legendary Hero or one of his descendents. But when a time comes that one is not enough to overcome the evil..." She trailed off, again seeing if they could piece together the answer.

Link and Samba thought for a second before, this time, Link came up with it. He had the look on his face, the distant, slowly tilting up look that comes when something major dawns on you. He looked at his ring, at Samba's, and at the one on the pillow. "When one weilder of the Master Sword isn't enough," he muttered while turning back to Zelda slowly, "the Rings of Dualty allow it to be shared by others!"

Zelda nodded. "Correct, but it's actually only one other," she said. "True, there are three rings, but that's how it can work." She held one hand up. "Each person wears at least one ring and the one with the second ring, as well, is the one who is allowed to hold the Master Sword at that time." She held the other hand up. "The other holds a normal sword and can either work alongside the weilder of the Master Sword or hide within their ring and let their partner wear it, where they have the chance to see whatever their partner sees, hear whatever their partner hears, and go wherever their partner goes while their partner can do things that might be easier without the other." She closed one hand. "At any time, the weilder of the Master Sword can switch their weapon to allow the other to weild it, the third ring appearing around the other's finger and the swords becoming normal or the Master Sword, respectively," she said, switching which hand is closed. She closed her hands together, lacing her fingers. "Working together, the wielders of the Master Sword can accomplish tasks that one alone could never do, even if he was the Legendary Hero himself. While the blade can only go to one at a time, both swordsmen hold at least a little of the power to repel evil in their blades as long as they wear a ring."

Link and Samba looked at their rings. "That's...a bit complicated," Link said, "but I guess it's pretty good if you can't split the Master Sword into two swords."

"But why tell us all of this?" asked Samba, looking at Zelda. "There's no way that Link and I are the ones destined to weild Evil's Bane!"

Zelda gave them a long, serious look. "I have not introduced myself, have I?" she finally asked. "I am Princess Zelda...and, like the others in my line, I sometimes have prophetic dreams. In one I had a few nights ago, I saw darkness covering Hyrule. However, two beams of light shone out from opposite corners of the land." She looked at Link. "One came from the lush forest in the southeast." She looked at Samba. "One came from the giant mountain in the northwest." She looked at both of them. "At the bases of the rays of light, I saw two shadows, beastlike in form, rise and fall. Standing in their places were figures, holding their palms up to catch a ring falling into them. The figures vanished as the lights then traveled to the location of the castle, making a wake in the darkness for a moment before it swallowed the clear ground behind them up again. When the lights converged here, however, they became a single, enormous, growing wave of light that washed away the darkness." She looked at the two of them in turn-Link, then Samba. They looked back with curious and wondering faces. "I now believe that the figures I saw were the two of you," she stated quietly.

Link and Samba jerked back, widened eyes.

"HUH?"

"REH?"

"US?" They looked at each other.

"But I just got lucky," Link insisted. "I didn't TRY to be heroic and get this ring!"

"And I'm a monster!" reasoned Samba. "There's no way a MONSTER can weild the thing that kills it on contact!"

Zelda shook her head, chuckling a little. "But I have to argue two points," she said. "Link, no hero TRIES to be heroic-they just do what is right. Besides, while luck may have helped, it was mostly your skill that earned you the ring...and I have a feeling that you know that. That's a sign of the Legendary Hero, by the way; humbleness."

Link blushed at this. "But...I'm not...I'm just..." he muttered.

Zelda smiled at him a little before looking at Samba. "As for you, Samba," she said, "I would like you to know that a gerudo prophecy was made some time ago. It said that a monster, of all things, would someday weild the power to repel evil through the use of a ring that made all but those destined to wear it into monsters that are even worse than the one that would gain the power. Not only that," she added wryly, "but it's called the Blade of EVIL'S Bane, not MONSTERS' Bane."

Samba gaped at this. "But...I'm still...I'm a..." he muttered.

Zelda sighed and pointed at the rings. "There's only one way for you two to see if I'm telling the truth or not, I see," she said. "Go. Put on the rings. You will not change immediately if you are not destined, but you will definitely feel it quite quickly if you are one of the chosen. Please, trust me. I am obliged to strongly refrain from lying to my people-which includes anyone or anything that resides within Hyrule." She lowered her arms and rested them in front of her, clasped together.

Link and Samba looked at her, at each other, and finally at the rings. Samba gulped. "Well, Ko advised me to listen to Princess Zelda and do any favor she asks me to do," he pointed out. "Here goes my sanity..." He picked up the ring and looked at it for a moment before blinking. "Errr...I forgot," he muttered. He turned to Zelda and held his second-to-last claw out (by curling his last and pointing his pointer and middle straight up while pressed together) and then held the ring in two of his other digits in his other paw. The ring was a fair bit smaller than the claw. "My claws are a bit too big for this ring! I suppose that the godesses will have to get it resized for me, oh, well!" He chuckled nervously. (His paws were just a bit big. He had five digits-a rarity, but not a unique one to him like his blue scales are-despite his gloves having only three holes for them. He didn't mind having two fingers in one hole, however.)

"Nice try," Zelda said flatly, giving an unfazed expression. "The rings are magical-it's not that hard for them to expand and contract to fit their wearer. Put it on."

Link, who had found his ring a tiny bit big and was hoping that he could evade it, too, sighed in defeat along with Samba. Both turned to each other, held up their rings to look, gulped and slowly put them on their dominant hand/paw. As Link put his on, point of the triangle facing his fingernail, it shrank to fit the finger. Conversely, as Samba put his on, point facing his arm, it expanded around his thicker knuckles. They finished sliding them to the final knuckle and released them with their other hand/paw, tensing up as they did.

As soon as they were on, a flash of light emitted from the stones, emerald from Link's and ruby from Samba's. The light blinded Samba a little, who shielded his eyes, and disturbed Link, who tilted his hand away a bit while squinting. The light filled their bodies, however, and shone from their eyes, which widened as they felt some inexplicable power flow through them. A second later, the light faded and all was normal.

Zelda was watching, mouth open a little. Now, though, she closed it into a smile. "I can't believe it," she whispered, looking down a bit and putting a hand on her sternum. "It WAS a prophetic dream. It really was." She closed her eyes for a moment before looking up at them again. They were currently looking at themselves and at the rings. "I see that I was right," she said. "If you were to become monsters, they wouldn't have lit up as they did after you let them go; nor would you have felt the power to repel evil flow through you as it seemed you did."

Link and Samba gaped at her. "You mean..." Link began.

"We can..." Samba continued.

Zelda nodded. "Yes," she confirmed. "You can wield the Master Sword. Not only that," she added, "but you must share the blade between yourselves as you seek both the identity of and a way to destroy the evil that is, I can feel, starting to threaten Hyrule."

Link and Samba slowly looked at each other. They blinked for a second before looking at her, pointing at the other and asking, "I've got to work with HIM?"

Zelda raised an eyebrow playfully. "You sound angry," she noticed. "I think you two would actually make a great team. Your abilities balance each other quite nicely-while Link is better at swordplay, from what I've seen, and can travel freely throughout human settlements, Samba has the advantage of increased mobility thanks to his powerful legs and knows things about other monsters...?"

Samba nodded. "A fair bit, naturally," he admitted. He narrowed his eyeridges and stamped his large foot. "But he tried to KILL me!"

"And I'm a human while he's a monster!" added Link.

Zelda held her hands up. "Please, you're both sounding like a couple of children whining about who started it," she informed them. "It's immature. This is what Destiny has given you, so I ask that you two settle the racial differences between you and work together."

Samba stood up reluctantly. "Well, if you put it that way," he muttered.

Link stood up, too. "I guess that was a little childish," he admitted.

Both looked at each other for a second before Link smiled and held his hand out. Samba nodded, smiling a small bit, and took it. The two shook hands/paws, and Zelda smiled at them.

"Thank you," she said. She walked over and took the third ring. "Now, which sister shall Nayru's Ring join first?" she asked, looking at them. "Will it be Farore's or Din's? Should it go to the descendent of the Hero, or to the first person aside from the Hero or his descendents to hold the Master Sword?"

The two blinked for a moment at this before looking at their hand/paw after parting. They looked up again. "Thumb war?" Link asked.

"No, you've got your dominant hand while I've got my weak one or the other way around; it'd be unfair," Samba said. "Flip a coin?"

"All I have are rupees," Link said.

"Then that only leaves one thing I think you two can use," Zelda said, stepping back.

The two swordsmen nodded and put a foot back as they looked at each other with a competitor's glare. Then, raising their fists and shaking them, they began...

"Rock, parchment, SHEARS!"

They thrust their hands (screw it, I'm gonna say that 'hands' instead of 'hand(s)/paw(s)' is okay) out to the middle. Samba slapped his palm to his muzzle and let out a "Raaaaaaaaugh!" while Link just pumped his fist into the air.

"Parchment covers rock," said Zelda, chuckling as Link's hand breifly closed around Samba's closed fist. "So Nayru's Ring joins Farore's Ring." She gave the ring to Link. "Place it on the same finger as the other." Link did so and found that it slid perfectly down to the side of his triangle when worn most comfortably.

Zelda then explained how to teleport the rings between each other. By willing it, the one holding Nayru's Ring can teleport it to the one without it. If the one without it wills it, they will teleport their ring to the other one, instantly becoming a being of light within their ring (and completing the Triforce on the finger holding all three rings). The one with the extra, third ring is the only one who can let them back out again, though, by physically removing it and tossing it to an empty space beside them or a little away from them. They couldn't use this very strategically, however, since the range before the other...er...person with the ring reappears is only five feet, and it cannot be thrown over an edge or wall. Also, when one is a being of light, they can appear from their ring as a globe of colored light, colored according to the ring they hide within, and speak to their partner. They can then also fly from their ring, like a then-mythical Kokiri's fairy, for a distance of up to thirty feet away. By using these abilities, they will be able to use the power of the Master Sword together with much greater ease.

Link and Samba both practiced these skills a bit at Zelda's request. Then, when they were finished, she took a step back to the door. "You are doing very well," Zelda said. "Will you please use the Rings of Dualty and the Master Sword, once you find it, to save Hyrule?" she asked, placing her hands together.

Link and Samba looked at each other, then at their rings (Link had Nayru's right now). They looked at Zelda and both nodded. "If it's my destiny, I guess I have no choice," Link reasoned.

"Not only would keeping Hyrule safe ultimately keep my family and home safe, but I have been advised to take on any favor you request," Samba reasoned.

Zelda bowed to them, making them start a little. "Thank you very much, Link and Samba," she said. As she rose, she brought out a harp from behind her back somewhere. "I have one last thing to tell you, since I have to leave for my duties," she said. "The Master Sword is currently being looked after by the zoras of Zora's Domain-specifically, King Zora. He knows that if the time comes, he shall allow the Knights of Dualty-you two-to enter the ruins of the fabled Temple of Time, where the Master Sword remains on its pedestal."

Samba scoffed. "Me? A knight?" he asked. He shook his head, laughing, "No way! The Master Sword I can barely grasp-no pun intended-but being a knight?"

"Are you not loyal to someone and bound to protect?" asked Zelda, raising an eyebrow.

Again, Samba widened his eyes at her point. "You...You're right..." He looked down. "I...never thought of it like that..."

Zelda smiled. "Samba, you are unique among lizalfos," she said. "Your heart is far more noble than you think. Just don't let that get to your head, though, or it will be ruined," she added, chuckling.

Samba blushed a little. "Th-Thank you, Princess," he mumbled. "I'll...keep that in mind..."

Zelda nodded and looked serious again. "Do either of you have an instrument or know how to sing?" she asked.

Link raised his eyebrows and brought out his ocarina. "Well, I'll be damned," he muttered, bringing it out. "I think I'm about to learn something NOW!" He nodded and held it up, saying louder, "I have an ocarina that a kind minstril gave to me just earlier today. I have practiced it all day while waiting for a chance to enter the castle, so I'm confident in using it."

Samba brought out the voucher, looking left out. "All I've got is a freebie for a stringed instrument at a place called Sound of MuZach," he grumbled, blushing again.

Link raised his eyebrow as he looked at it. "That's the place that the minstrils asked me to visit. Where'd you get that?" he asked.

"Ko gave it to me as a going-away present," Samba answered plainly.

Zelda chuckled. "I see that luck is on our side for the moment," she said. "Samba, just do your best to remember this melody, while Link, I ask that you memorize this right now." She held her hand up by her harp, ready to pluck. "Listen closely. This is a song that is both a mark of royal connections and the lullaby for my ancestor." She played three simple notes twice, paused, and played them again.

Link knew what to do as he listened. After he had the music in his ears, he raised his ocarina and played the 6/8 tune. (Every two oo's makes up one full beat.) _Doooooo-doo-doooo...Doooooo-doo-doooooo..._Then, he suddenly felt knowledge dawn on him. He repeated the melody, playing with passion. _Doooooo-doo-doooo...Doooooo-doo-doooo...Doooo-doo-doooo-doo-doooo..._Zelda was starting to play this last part when Link played it all out, so she stopped after the first two notes of the second part and looked in surprise at Link. When he was done and opened his eyes, Zelda had her eyebrows raised high. "How did you know what to play?" she asked. "Only royalty knows that song..."

Link shrugged. "It just...came to me," he said. "I don't know how..." He looked at his ocarina in wonder. "It's almost as if it were magic..." he mumbled. 'That singer was RIGHT! Holy #!+!' He nodded as he put the ocarina away. "I also now know the song like the back of my hand," he described. "It IS pretty simple, though, so that might not be entirely magic."

Zelda smiled and nodded. She put her harp away and looked at Samba. "What instrument shall you get?" she asked.

Samba shrugged. "I don't know quite yet," he said. "I might want the mandolin or a lute. I've always liked those kinds of instruments."

Zelda nodded. "I see. You will have to turn in that voucher as soon as you can, at least before it expires. Instruments are expensive. You are very lucky, indeed, to have the chance to get one for free." She smiled wryly at this before she sighed and had a straight face again. "I must leave, now. Thank you both very much. And don't worry about the trouble you've caused. Samba, I would hide with Link until you are out of town or until you have a chance to come out," she advised him. "I doubt that, even if you claimed that you were with Link, you would make a good impression. You are, well...not quite what people are used to," she decided.

Samba sighed, giving a "What can ya do?" smile and shrug. "I get it. I'll hide with Link." He raised his ring and willed it to Link, the ring and himself disappearing in a short burst of red light. The ring reappeared on top of Nayru's, the red triangle forming the top of the Triforce. He then floated out in a ball of red light. "Thank you very much, Princess," he said, voice echoing a little. "I promise to do my best, as I always try when carrying out orders."

Zelda nodded. "Good. And Link," she said. "Head to Zora's Domain. It's north of here-just go along Hylia River. Meet the king and play that song I just taught you, often called 'Zelda's Lullaby', in front of him. He should let you through to the Temple of Time Ruins. But, first, I advise you get Samba his instrument. Find a place to rest for the night and start in the morning. And Samba, I am sorry if this troubles you, with the situation you are in involving your sister," she added, looking sincere, "but this is important."

"Isn't there anything I could do, though?" asked Samba. "I won't be returning with all of the Rings of Dualty the way that the chief wants them..."

Zelda smirked. "You'll think of something." She turned. "I bid you farewell for now, leaving this all to you. If you find any important information that you feel would be good for me to know, such as the identity of the mastermind behind the evil, feel free to come back to me. Simply play Zelda's Lullaby in front of the guards at the gate. You will find it quite useful. Farewell, and good luck." She left through the door she had come through.

Link and Samba blinked at her (you couldn't see Samba blink, though) before they both asked, "Do we just mosey on out of here, then?"

"!" Zelda came rushing back, blushing. She bowed deeply. "I'm sorry, I forgot! Yes! The guards should let you through. If they give you trouble, just play that song for them," she said quickly. "I am very sorry I forgot about that!" she apologized again.

Link chuckled. "Hey, you're only mortal," he said. "Everyone makes mistakes."

Zelda smiled up at him and nodded. "Yes, that is very true," she said. She turned again. "Now, for real, this time...farewell, good luck...and thank you again." She walked off again.

This time, Link and Samba looked at each other. Link held his hand up and looked at his rings, holding his fingers out straightish while making a 180-turned (and mirrored) "L" with his hand and the fingers and tilting the hand so that he could see the rings' stones. Specifically, though, he looked at the red orb floating above it. "So," Link said, "I guess we're stuck together for a bit."

"I guess we are," Samba said, bobbing up and down in a shrug. "This has been quite the night for me. I just hope that I can get back to my sister in time...Let's get going, though, Link," he said.

Link nodded, and Samba returned to his ring, shrinking down into it and breifly making the stone glow. He lowered his hand and went to the door Samba went through, just to see how much damage he did.

Samba, meanwhile, watched from his view in the ring. He could actually see all of Link's body from the ring, zoomed out like a camera facing behind Link. He was jerked around to face behind Link whenever he had to focus on what was in front of him, but he didn't mind. He was actually more concerned with Vardi. 'What CAN I do?' he wondered. 'I can't just go back to the chief, bringing the Master Sword! He'd take that as an insu-' But he stopped. In his little space of the ring, he felt like he was raising his head slowly, a thought dawning on him.

'I CAN bring him the Master Sword!' he realized. 'If I give him the Master Sword, as long as he never touches it, I could explain that, since he has it, there's no way that the Hero can get it, now!' He grinned, narrowing his eyes as he chuckled to himself. 'I think I finally came up with my own plan, Ko...and I'm confident I can handle it...' He looked at the rings on Link's hand. 'I think these rings have become a very great tool for me...Vardi, just you wait! I'm coming! I swear it, I'm coming!'

And so, the REAL game is about to begin...Sorry about how friggin' long this chapter is! It's 27 pages, according to my program...yikes X.X Here's hoping I can half-ass my way through this whole thing and actually get an idea of what to do someday! XD;


	7. Getting Acquainted

Link made his way out of the castle and went down to the inn where he had slept the night before

Link made his way out of the castle and went down to the inn where he had slept the night before. "I'm sorry, but I'm getting pretty tired," Link reasoned to Samba under his breath. (Samba was, right now, hiding in his ring, seeing as some people and guards were still outside.) The streets at night were interesting--not so many people, as well as this air of mystery.

Incedentially, the inn was located past the old cathedral. When Link passed by it, he stopped and looked at it, wide-eyed. 'Woah...'

Seeing as nobody else was around, Samba came out. "You...You feel that?" he asked quietly.

Link nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "It's like...some sort of deep trouble is resonating from that place..."

Samba "nodded", or bobbed up and down slightly while rolling up and down (though this wasn't very noticible; unlike fairies, Samba and Link in their ball-of-light forms have nothing that stays on them to indicate facing, like wings). "It feels like...like the feeling I had in front of the Empty Cavern, except worse," he described.

Link jerked in the way that people do when they finally get something that's been bothering them. He held up a finger. "THAT'S the feeling I had earlier today!" he exclaimed quietly. "The same feeling I had before the Forest of Peril...interesting..." He moved away, however, since his energy level wasn't up to the amount he would have liked to explore the cathedral.

Link's inn was actually closeby the Broken Rupee. So, feeling hungry, he decided to go and grab a bite to eat. "What, I get nothing?" asked Samba from behind him as he approached the tavern. He'd figured out that he could always just hide behind Link's shield if he was inside an inhabited area.

"No, I'll figure out a way to carry some food back to the inn for you," he whispered back as he opened the door. "Now hush, else I seem to be talking to myself..."

He went in and first asked if people were allowed to carry out any unfinished food somehow. The bartender smiled warmly and nodded. "Why, of course," he said. "You just say the word, and we'll have the plate wrapped in some nice, clean paper. We'd like it if you brought the plate back, of course," he added. "It'll be free of charge, don't worry; the Broken Rupee has to cater to its customers to the fullest if it wants to continue business!" (Paper was known about in Hyrule, but parchment was used a fair amount. One reason was because the parchment made there was sturdier than paper and could withstand being rolled up and such a lot more--thus, it was much better-suited for maps.)

Link smiled and thanked him for the information before ordering a fair amount of food for one person. He later wished he had asked Samba to pay for the food he got him, since his wallet was quite light after purchasing the meal. One reason it was so expensive was because he ordered some good, medium-done steak for Samba, who wondered if he could drool in his ball of light form. (If he could, he would have apologized to Link later for drenching his entire back; he's rarely had steak and he's always jumped at the chance to have some.) He also ordered a bit of poultry, some bread, a slice of cheese, and a glass of ice-cold milk for himself.

After paying the entire 90-rupee sum that this all came to (he'd been able to gather quite a few rupees from the money that the guards had given up upon defeat--'Hey, spoils, eh?' he reasoned), Link sat down in the spot he had before. The tavern was in a buzz around him.

"Did you see those fireworks?"

"Yeah! And I hear that the castle was attacked!"

"Wow, I wonder what happened?"

Link gulped as he heard all of this around him. 'Nobody said anything about us, right?' he hoped.

"I wanna thank whoever set those fireworks off," said a young voice. Link looked and noticed the same four people from before sitting at the same table in the same spots. 'Must be a popular meeting place for them,' he reasoned. The youngest one there was grinning from ear to ear. "Those were really cool!"

"I'll admit, they were a heck of an extravagent diversion," said the burly man, crossing his arms and nodding.

"Like, why did they do it, though?" asked the blonde, tilting her head and putting a finger to her mouth.

"Like he said, a diversion," the gerudo answered, arms behind her head while she rested her feet on the edge of the table.

"I wasn't talking about a diversion for some ploy," the man said a little defensively.

"I know, but it sure diverted the guards for a bit while some folks went in and attacked," the gerudo said, sighing. Link instantly looked away from the group. Thankfully, his food was carried in then, the steak on one plate and the rest on another, so he had something to divert his attention. He couldn't help eavesdropping, though, while he ate.

"So, like, there WAS an attack on the castle?" the blonde asked in wonder.

The gerudo tilted her hand. "Kinda-sorta," she answered. "It wasn't a real attack to take the castle--there were only...what, I think it was five or six people total."

"And you had a front-row seat, didn't you?" asked the burly man, crossing his arms.

"Ooooh, you were there?" the boy asked excitedly.

The gerudo smirked and held her hands up, palms forward, eyes closed. "Alright, I give; I was sitting in the shadows of the back wall, I'll admit. But I was only there because I was bored, I promise," she said, opening her eyes and pointing at them all. "I wasn't part of the whole scheme there at all. I mean, seriously, when's the last time us desert folks have associated with a bunch of lizalfos?" She held her hands (and palms) up with a defensively skeptical (I guess) look on her face.

Samba gulped this time after hearing this. 'Meep.'

"So, what else happened?" the boy asked eagerly.

"Nothin' much," she replied, shrugging calmly with an uniterested eyes-closed look on her face. "All I could see through the windows was a bunch of guards chickening out as the monsters plowed on through. It looks like they were after the ring that the Royal Family's been keeping under guard and wanted to get to it the only way their tiny brains knew how: brute force."

Samba growled, but before he could retort, Link purposefully shrugged in a way that his sheild bopped down on Samba, which actually squished him a little bit (attacks flew through him, but that didn't mean he wasn't somewhat solid) and was enough of a warning to make him roar back only in his mind. 'HEY! For your information, we had to plan that whole thing, from the selection of people to the place we started from to the acting like normal monsters looking for prey before the signal that WE sent up!!' He made sure to remember all that if he ever had the chance to yell at her in private.

The table nodded in agreement. "Like, yeah, those guys aren't very smart," the blonde said. "Though...wait, maybe...naw, that can't be," she muttered to herself.

"So, anything else?" asked the man.

"Well, I think I caught a glimpse of some other guy coming up the other way," the gerudo said, looking up in thought. "Didn't get a good look at him, though. He was wicked good with the sword, though it's not that hard to defeat the guards the castle has these days," she chuckled.

Link tried his best not to freeze or do anything when he heard this, and he calmed down when he heard her not say anything about his description that could point him out. 'I've got a sword with me, but that means pretty much nothing...'

"Not only that," she continued, holding up a finger, "but a while afterwards, when the fireworks had ended and I was about to move, I saw the strangest thing." She put her feet on the floor and smirked as she rested her chin on her hand and her elbow on the table. "You wouldn't believe it, but I saw a few guards ESCORTING, like, five of the lizalfos back out to the wall. Their grappling hooks were still there, so they just climbed back up--leaving one of them there, since I guess one of them got killed or something--and hopped back over the other side from whence they came, the escorts telling the others not to do anything to them. I couldn't see over the other side of the wall very well without potentially getting caught, but I guess they made it back alright." She chuckled. "I'm not making any of this up, honest," she said, "but I don't think the folks at the castle would appreciate it if word gets out about this, so major hush-hush."

The people at the table nodded. The man and the gerudo didn't look too sure about the kid and the blonde, though; they both looked ready to blab. They must have decided it was alright after a moment, though, since they seemed to calm down. 'Nobody'd believe a little kid,' Link thought, 'and that blonde's a total airhead.'

Samba breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, they're safe," he wispered.

Link finished his food and asked for the steak to be wrapped up. "I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomach," he chuckled, grinning sheepishly, to the bartender as he came with some paper to wrap around the dish.

"That's alright; it WAS quite a tempting-looking steak," the bartender told Link, smiling. He handed it to him. "Here you go! Thank you for eating here!"

Link smiled and nodded, saying it wasn't a problem, before getting up with the steak and walking out the door.

The gerudo kept an eye on him as he left.

Link set the plate on an endtable while he sat on the single bed there. He had closed the door and window curtains already. He held his rings up. "Alright, you want out?" he asked quietly.

Samba zipped out from behind him. "Please, I can't wait a second more...!" he whined. "Steeeeak..."

Link chuckled and took off the ring. He lobbed it into the air in front of him. Before long, a red light flashed in the form of Samba from the ring, which righted itself to fit on his right ring claw as he quickly solidified. He looked at himself a bit. "Still trying to get used to that," he muttered. He then turned to the plate and licked his lips, drool starting from his mouth already like a sink starting to overflow. "Thank you very much!" he said before he grabbed it, tore the paper off, and--asked if there was a fork or anything. Link chuckled and brought out some (washed) utensils he actually carried around with him just in case he had to hunt for his own food on his long outing.

Link was honestly surprised that Samba used utensils at all. He ate ravenously, practically taking the whole hunk of meat with the fork and sticking it halfway in his mouth, but he was still sensible enough to use some of the paper to mop his mouth before he dribbled down much. Midway through chewing his first bite, he took off his helm, revealing his blue face entirely. "Oh, so the horns are just decoration?" Link asked, looking at the head armor.

Samba nodded and swallowed. "Yes, they are," he answered. "I don't mind the helm much, but I guess it does get in the way a bit, sometimes. I don't like how it has to be strapped on like it is. You're lucky that your cap fits your head so nicely," he told him before taking another bite. "...Will anyone object to there being two voices from a room where only one is supposed to be staying?" he asked through his food after a second.

Link shrugged. "If we're quiet, that shouldn't be much of a problem," he answered. He sighed and took his cap off, revealing his hair. He ran a hand through it. "Whoo, this all really gets sweaty after a while," he muttered. "It's the most durable clothing I've got, though."

Samba smirked after swallowing. "Heh! Try being sent off with a piece of full plate front torso armor and running around with it on!" he said. "I actually let a soldier get the straps with his sword when he was attacking me on the stairs up to the place we met so I could get rid of it. I hope the chief won't kill me, but seriously, I just can't be weighed down by so much armor." He sighed and shook his head before taking another bite.

Link smiled a bit and leaned back on the bed, propping himself with his arms. "You know, your Hylian is very good," he commented.

"Thank you very much!" Samba smiled at him at this. "I've been working on it for quite a while--two years, actually, and practically every day. I like it, no matter how difficult it is to learn for someone who makes hisses and growls for much of his main language." He turned back to his food and continued chewing. A few moments later, and he was starting to swallow.

"My, but those are pretty rings for a man to wear," the gerudo said, hands behind her back as she leaned and looked over Link's shoulder from the other side of the bed.

Link gasped and turned and Samba started to choke, thumping his chest. "Y-You!" Link breathed.

Samba wheezed as he got the food out of his airway, swallowed, and turned to her and asked, "How the hell...did YOU get in here...?!"

The gerudo stood up and held a hand to her mouth while she chuckled. "Mm-hm-hm-hm-hm-hm! I'm sorry for surprising you, boys, but I couldn't help myself. I'm surprised neither of you noticed me." She stretched and sighed. "I've actually been hiding under the bed this whole time. Just glad I got it right." She walked over to the end of the bed and sat down.

Link gulped and Samba growled. "What do you want?" asked the lizalfos.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," the gerudo said, holding out her hand as if examining her fingernails. "Just wanted to talk a little bit. I'm not enemy of yours, trust me on this one." She sighed and hugged a leg up onto the bed with her. "Name's Aradia. Seeing as calling you Greenie and Blue Boy wouldn't be nice, what're YOUR names?" she chuckled.

Link and Samba blinked a moment before looking at each other, a little unsure. Then Link looked at Aradia and nodded. "I'm Link," he introduced.

"Samba," Samba gave.

Aradia nodded. "Well met, Link and Samba," she said. "As I'm sure you both heard from me talking at the tavern, you know I was there, watching. I'll bet you betted that I actually found a way to watch the entire thing, too," she added, closing her eyes in that "Oh, well" way.

Link shook his head, but Samba went, "Heh!" He pointed at her. "I've heard about you gerudo girls. I just never thought you were that sneaky."

Araida chuckled and held her hands up. "Well, sorry for having it in my blood," she mock apologized. "My father actually has a heck of a knack for that kinda stuff. I guess I can pull it off better than most. Not blowing my own horn, of course," she added, resting on a hand on the bed while winking and shaking a finger back at them, the arm it was on resting on the knee of the leg she had on the bed.

Link frowned a little bit as he sat a bit farther back on the bed, crossing his arms while he looked at her. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

Aradia sighed, shaking her head while drooping it. "What, no small talk? Ugh, oh, well," she said. She looked up again and brought her other leg up on the bed while turning to them. "I just wanted to say that I'm on your side in this little quest of yours that the princess talked about," she told them. "I'm not going to be able to join you, though I bet it'd be pretty fun, but I'll be sure to put a good word in for you two if you decide to pay us a visit," she winked.

Samba raised an eyeridge, munching his last bite of steak. "No offence, but I'd rather not get sand in my scales more than I have to, thanks," he said through the food.

Aradia raised an eyebrow right back. "Well, why not just hide in your ruby like you were and make your hylian friend here go through it?" she suggested, then joked, "That is, if you remember to do so!"

Samba growled after he swallowed and said, "I have as good a memory as you guys!! I don't think I'd forget something like that in a week or so or however long this ordeal's going to last." He then recalled what she had said before and added, "Oh, and for your information, we had to plan that whole thing, from the selection of people to the place we started from to the acting like normal monsters looking for prey before the signal that WE sent up!!"

Aradia raised her eyebrows in surprise that he remembered that remark and hadn't said anything at the time and laughed, "I'm sorry! I was joking! I take it, from your intelligence and calmer nature, you're one of those Jgk'hry monsties, right?" she asked, pointing at him.

Samba nodded. "Yes. I wonder what'll happen to the others, actually," he added, looking down and away a little as he worried about the others in the group. "What'll our nutjob chief do...?"

At this, Aradia narrowed her eyebrows. "That's another thing, by the way," she went on, leaning over to them a bit more. "I wanted to tell you guys to watch out for folks and monsters that seem a bit more...evil than normal. I'm actually being plauged by the same case..." She softened her expression into a hint of worry as she looked away as she said this. She looked back like she had before, though, after a second. "I'm warning you to be careful about those people. I've yet to find out a way to assist them, but I know that it's something not natural. I dunno about you, but I've been seeing the clouds of hate slowly, ever so slowly, coming on the horizon ever since I heard about these abnormalities."

Link and Samba exchanged raised eyebrows before they looked at her again. "Actually, I had to fight a giant pig that had a weird, pulating red crystal stuck up her rear," said Link. "I destroyed it, and she was normal and peaceful again afterwards."

Aradia put a hand to her chin in thought. "I see," she said. "I guess that you've already experienced a case of that, then." She looked up at them and nodded, smirking and looking wiley again. "Well, I guess I'd better get out of here before I get caught and to let you two do some good old fashioned male bonding," she said, getting off the bed. "I can't believe I got to see that those Rings of Dualty you've got are the real deal...you guys are pretty lucky, you know. I'd give anything to be able to go out and do some traveling..."

Link and Samba shrugged at this. "We're doing this because we have to," Samba said. "I've got to do this to help ultimately defend my home, and Link's basically doing the same."

Aradia chuckled and stretched her arms. "Mmmm...Well, before I go, I wanted to ask you two something: You know about those Heart Container things you probably got from those Leviathans, right?" she asked. They nodded. "Well, you know about Pieces of Heart?"

Link raised his eyebrows. "Oh! I remember that I got a couple in the Forest of Peril and one from the farmer who owned the pig I was talking about," he described. "He said the name, but I don't think he said anything about what they do."

Aradia slouched and smirked. "Well, if you guys collect five of those puppies, you'll assemble a full Heart Container and further enhance your body's ability to take damage before it gives out," she explained. "And I dunno if Zeldy said anything about it, but your guys' life force is somewhat shared, now. If one of you falls, the other does, too. Also, if one ever collects a Heart Container, the other reaps the benefits as well. The same with your Pieces of Heart."

They raised their eyebrows/eyeridges at this, looking alarmedly at each other. "So if one of us is killed, even if the other's taken no hits, then both of us die?" asked Link with the sound of someone who might have a dry throat.

Aradia nodded. "However," she added, holding up a finger, "this doesn't mean that you can't extend your defenses further. Just because if one dies, the other does, too, it doesn't mean that if one's health drops, the other's will, as well. If one of you finds yourself in a critical state, I'd advise letting the other have all three rings and hide. Sure, the one wearing them will take about half more damage as long as long as the one hiding is below half of his limits, but it's enough to get you guys out of danger. Oh, and collecting those hearts that help us rough-and-tumbles out so much in dealing with boo-boos will only count for each of you individually, even when wearing all three rings."

Samba looked at his ring, brow furrowed. "So...let's see...If I'm more than halfway towards dying and I hide in my ring, Link will take more damage to himself but I'll be fine?" he reviewed. "And if I collect a heart, it will only restore my body and not his?"

Aradia nodded. "Correct. Also, if you guys are smart enough to pack a fairy with you, it will rescue the other guy if you fall--but for half the amount of health it restores normally if it's going for you. This makes life a lot easier for you, but I suspect that if you have to use the rings in the first place, you've got some tough battles ahead of you. I just hope you both know how to handle yourselves and how to handle each other," she chuckled.

The two nodded. Link asked, raising an eyebrow, "Why do you know so much about the Rings of Dualty?"

"Oh, they've been passed down in story form for generations for us gerudos hanging around the temple," she explained. "I don't hang around there much, but I'm a Jill of All Trades, I guess you could say." She went to the window and opened it. "Well, I've got to get going," she said, looking back at them while putting a foot out on the sill and smiling mischievously. "I'll tell Head Granny about you guys; she'll be thrilled. Don't worry, we're the good girls; we won't tell anyone," she assured them. She sighed and smirked at them, winking, "Well, see you soon, guys! Bye!" And Aradia was gone.

Link and Samba looked at each other, blinking. "That was interesting," Samba said.

"Very." Link got up and shut the window before he turned and began to take his tunic off, starting with his belt full of bags. (He had tights and other underwear on, don't worry.) "So, what instrument you going to get?" he asked.

Samba shrugged. "I'll see what they've got when you get there," he answered. He began to get ready for sleep, as well, taking his sword and buckler off. He got to his pebble bag and tilted his head in thought. "Hey, could I see that boomerang you got?" he asked.

Link smiled proudly and produced it before he took his "utility belt" off. He gave it to Samba, who took it amd looked at it, impressed look on his face. "It's become my favorite weapon apart from my sword," he described. "It's great--I can throw it at a wall, even and it'll come right back every time. It can also defeat small enemies, like keese, and stun larger ones, like moblins. What's most useful, though, is the fact I can sort of 'target' up to five, I think, things and it'll go in the order I chose. It can even go in water!" he added, grinning widely. "It transforms when it hits water and reverts a little while after it's out of it. It's also got so many other uses...Who knows what it could do next?" Link shrugged with a smile.

"Wow," Samba said with a wry smile, giving it back. "Knocks the snot out of my measly little spell that makes a spark fly whenever a rock I throw hits something. It lights dry tinder, causes extra damage, and causes certain red stones to blow up after a second."

Link raised his eyebrows. "Not a bad spell, sounds like," he commented. He took off his shirt and stretched his arms. "Oooh, much better..." He sat on the bed and, with all the talk about dungeons, pulled out the map from that dungeon from his pack. "Wow...I can't believe that night," he said. "I know, it wasn't completely fun, and shouldn't have been, but...I did have a little fun, I'll admit it."

"What, fighting monsters and trying to figure out what the heck is up with the place?" scoffed Samba, who, shirtless himself, brought out his own map. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at a spot on it. "What is...?"

"No, not that," Link said. "The place that will probably make me never look at vines the same way again actually had inside of it a great deal of puzzles for me to solve. Just about every single room had one or two. I got one of my Pieces of Heart from there after figuring out a two-room puzzle that had the clues in one room and the puzzle in the other." He chuckled. "Now that I think of it, I bet that guy who had a study in there made the cute little story clues for them," he muttered.

"You LIKED those puzzles?" Samba asked, raising an eyeridge at him. "I tell you, they weren't all that fun for me. Well...okay, I guess I DID have a little fun. If it weren't for the fact I was afraid my sister was going to die every second I wasted in there, I might have, indeed, had more fun." Curious, he leaned over and peeked at Link's map. "Wow. Lot different than the Empty Cavern."

Link looked at the Empty Cavern map. "Yeah, yours uses floors a lot more," he commented. He looked at the labrynth room where Samba had found his Piece of Heart. "Why is only that room on all the floors?"

"OH," Samba said, rolling his eyes. "THAT room. Ugh...I think that's one of those fun-but-not-fun things you were talking about...I put that one off until the end because of how complicated it looks. It's all a big, convoluted gahetaq...er, sorry, I mean...l...something..." He blushed as he struggled for the word. "Sorry, I don't remember that one well," he said.

"'Labyrinth'?"

"Yeah, thanks..."

Link smiled. "Hey, language is hard." He looked interestedly at his partner's map and noticed something. "You missed a chest."

Samba nodded. "Yeah, I just noticed," he said, looking at it. It appeared to be behind the cave-in he had seen in the first hallway. "It's behind a cave-in...I doubt I'd be able to get through by taking the stones out one by one." He thought a little bit. "If I could just blow them all away with a great blast...like if I could grab a bunch of those red stones and blow them up there...but there weren't any..."

Link tilted his head as he looked at the map. "You know, I think I've heard about bombs being sold places," he said. "They could probably blow it up."

Samba nodded. "If we ever want to go back in there," he added. "I dunno if you could make it through some spots without a lizalfos's superior legs." He grinned and slapped his great, firm thigh. "No offence, of course."

"None taken." Link looked at his own map and smiled a little wistfully. "There were some really great puzzles in the Forest of Peril," he said. "I guess they were what made it perilous."

"Well, I don't get why the Empty Cavern got its name," Samba laughed, giving a sarcastic smile as he did. "It was full of so many monsters and artificially made things like chain-hung platforms."

Link raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked. He lay on the bed and looked at Samba. "Say, what kind of puzzles were there that you had to figure out?"

Samba leaned back on his chair as he spoke, putting a big foot up on it. "You're into puzzles, aren't you?" he asked, raising an eyeridge. "Well, let's see...There was one room that had this confusing arrangement with some of those platforms I was talking about, all hung over a bed of stalagmites." He took out a piece of charcoal he had with him and drew a circle around some platforms and a square around others, then put a 1 or 2 on them. "The circled ones were down when I came in and the squared ones were up. When I hit an eye-shaped switch that was on the basement floor, the ones with the 1's changed positions, switching floors. If I hit a switch on the second floor, the 2's moved."

Link raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Interesting," he said. "Sounds like an aggrivating puzzle."

"It was," Samba said, growling at the memory. "That's not all, either. This room, this room, and this room all had a special keystone that I had to carry all the way back into the chain platform chamber to this spot on the first floor in order for a chest with a gear that let the door to the Leviathan's chamber open to appear," he continued, pointing to the spiraling room, the stepping stone room, and the labyrinth room. "I had to go up a few spiraling ledges in this room and defeat, of all things in that place, deku babas--yeah, I was surprised when I found out plants like that grew in caves, too--before I got this map and the first keystone." He put his claw on the spiral room.

"I then went and hopped across these stepping stones--things I bet you couldn't cross no matter how hard you tried, no offence--all the way to this middle platform in this room, grabbing the compass for the dungeon and the next keystone, which I had to carry back while fending off swarms of keese." He pointed to the stepping stone room.

"I saved the maze room for last. I had to go up and down and all around the room, facing nothing, as I searched for the final keystone. I found it at the end of the path and triggered a giant boulder chasing after me. I had to haul tail back all the way down before it crushed me." He pointed to the maze room and looked up thoughtfully. "I dunno why, but something about that hazard seems...cliché..." He shrugged and pointed to the spot the Heart Piece was found. "I found my own Piece of Heart here--which knocks our count up to four total, now, right?--after I went and stepped on a switch here to bring up a wall to protect me from the boulder." He pointed to the spot the switch was in.

"Sounds fun," Link said. "Dangerous, but fun."

"I guess that's the main puzzle there," Samba said. "A couple rooms needed to be cleared of enemies and one puzzle, after I grabbed my Fire Pebble spell, brought up some more stepping stones that opened a door across to here. Then I had to find both the key and the gear for the Leviathan's door, so...yeah. Pretty much it." (Now that I think about it, the Empty Cavern might have been a better choice for a starting dungeon...)

Link nodded. "Sounds challenging nonetheless," he said. "As for me, I think I had a bit more to deal with." He laid his map down and pointed to the first room, then to each room and spot as he went. "First was the foyer. I had to kill all the keese to get a key that appeared here. Then I got into this main room, where I saw the thief--my friend, Betta--go through the big door here, where I fought Ruedekul. I used the small key on this door, found a few moblins and had to take care of them before I could push a block I found here that opened the next door."

"What's with the blue and teal?"

"Water. The teal is water that goes under the floor. The floor's just about one hundred percent branch-thick vines grown together into a twisted, solid mass." Samba raised his eyeridges. "You have to see it to believe it. I don't know if it's all there anymore, since I defeated Ruedekul, and he said I was in him, so..." He shrugged.

"I think he just became part of the dungeon, not the dungeon is part of him," said Samba. "I'm pretty sure the Empty Cavern's still there even though I beat Krungratrg."

Link nodded and moved on. "Next, I visited a room that had two puzzles in one. The one I dealt with then was to defeat all the enemies--moblins and keese, I think--to open this door and get the chest with this very map to appear here. Next, in this room here, I killed everything and pushed a block here to this spot here. Now, you can't see it on the map, but there's a study under this big northern part here." He indicated the area. "I found an empty map of Hyrule there that I'm going to fill in by posting on map parts of the reigions. Anyway, after that, all I had to do was kill the big, axe-toting moblin in here, grab his key, and get my boomerang. I used it to reopen the door by hitting three switches above it."

"Handy little thing," commented Samba.

"Quite. It let me get to the compass, which appeared on a hanging platform here in the island room. I had to beat everyone first, then target the main vine connected to some corner vines supporting it. I found that out the hard way--the chest slid right into the water and vanished when I cut one of the corner vines." Samba snorted at this and covered his mouth. Link bobbed his head like, "Yeah, well..." and continued. "Anyway, so I got that, then another key when I hit a switch here and here in the map chest room. I used it on this door after I hit five switches in one go on the east wall. However, first I got my first Heart Piece on a wide stump under the center of the paths by accidentially falling in, getting attacked by keese-sized sharklike fish, and using my boomerang to kill them all. By the way, have you ever stood in the spot where a chest will appear before?" he asked. Samba shook his head. Link chuckled. "I found out with this one. You get pushed up from below and end up standing on top of the chest when it's finished appearing!"

Samba laughed. "That's helpful! At least you don't have it appear right where you are and become one with the chest..."

Link and Samba shuddered at the thought of that (while not knowing they'd be telefragged instead) before the former continued. "Well, I got that, climbed up and went into this room. I had to get wet AGAIN after clearing the vines blocking my way all along here by hitting these switches. You see this little zig-zag river? It would be blocked by the vines if I hadn't cleared them away with the switches. The doors would both shut and trap you inside. Probably the most annoying room except for the one with the boss key."

"'Boss key'?" Samba blinked at him.

"What I decided to call the big key that unlocks the Leviathan's chamber," Link explained. "I mean, hey, the Leviathan's the boss of the whole place, so why not?" Samba shrugged and Link went on. "Well, anyway, I ended up in this room. After stunning two javelin-throwing moblins, one each here and here, and consequencially having them fall into the water and defeating them instantly, I got up and solved the little puzzle here." He grinned as he pointed at the five switch islands. "There was a switch in these spots with a matching story snippet. I had to figure out the order by reading the story. It was very cute. But I went in a bit of a triple-triangle shape," he described, tracing the path the boomerang took. "I had to hit all of them in order and then the first in one go with the boomerang to make a vine bridge grow across to here. There were thorny vine fences blocking the ways across via jumping, so that's why I had to solve the puzzle. That room's my favorite. I love logic puzzles."

"What, you mean riddles?" Samba asked, raising a nostril and an eyeridge. "I hate those. I'm never very good at them. Good, now I know that I can let you handle them if we ever face any more." He chuckled a little at this.

"Heh, thanks for giving me all the fun. Here was an easy one: These ledges were of different heights and I had to chop off the vines holding a wood slat bridge out over nothing connected to the ledges to make them into ladders. It brought me to the second floor of this place, which was made up of this room and this next one."

Samba raised his eyeridges. "Now THAT is a maze room," he commented.

"You think that's bad?" Link asked. "These walls, except the ones making the walls of the room itself, are thorn-covered fences. Not just that, most of the room was overgrown with tall grass that obscured my vision. I had to go and wander around to hit five switches to make vines blocking my way to the boss key, here, and get it. At each switch was another sign, and if you can see, I marked the switches' spots. See a similarity to another room?"

Samba looked at that room and then the others. He looked at the islet switch room and pointed. "There. There's a vauge resemblance between the placement of switches of the two rooms," he said. Link nodded, and Samba pumped his fist in victory, hissing, "Yesss!" He then looked at the numbers by the marked switches in the maze room. "Hmmm...So you had to figure out the order using a riddle like before, eh? Clever."

Link nodded. "That got me my second Piece of Heart," he said. "Now that I know what they do, I'd say it was worth it." Link sighed and sat back. "That's basically it. I went in and whupped Ruedekul's...well, I dunno if he has a butt--he was basically a giant tree...made of twisted vines..."

Samba was attent at this. "Hey, could you tell me how your Leviathan fight was?" he asked. "C'mon, it's only fair--you wanted puzzles, I want the Leviathan fight."

Link nodded. "Fair enough," he accepted. "Well, there were five trees over here, as you can see. I had the opportunity to climb up them and jump onto him from the branches. His teeth were sensitive and full of some strange fluid. I dunno why, but when I hit them with my boomerang, he got stunned and I was able to climb up and slash at his weak point, a sack of...I think it was his brain." He shuddered. "Not pretty. He got back up and would grow more teeth each time, so I had to repeat the process. The last time through, however, he grabbed me and I had to distract him to grab my boomerang and target his teeth in time. I pretended I'd seen a huge swarm of locusts coming at him...and it worked." Samba smacked his forehead. "I know, but, wow, was I glad I could do that. I wonder what else could have happened for me to win, since he grabbed me after destroying the trees. He also destroyed trees I'd used to get to him with. And, on the ground, he would lash me with vines that I would have to roll underneath through a little arch they made."

"But, after you got him the last time with the boomerang, you were able to finish him?" asked Samba, and Link nodded. Samba nodded. "Sounds like an exciting battle. I hope you understand, though, that I think mine was better. Let me tell you, Krungratrg was an absolute freak..." He shuddered. "I'm glad I was able to defeat him. The whole fight mostly took place inside a network of tunnels with stalactites practically carpeting the ceiling. First, he was a giant face in a wall with two...well, walls, I guess, shooting boulders at me. He wasn't very smart--he did the same thing over and over, firing a couple boulders and then spitting a bunch of rocks at me. Some of these rocks were red, so I took the liberty to fill in a red scar on his forehead and blow it to bits."

Link blinked. "Why would he spit red rocks if he knew they would hurt him?" he asked.

Samba shrugged. "After that," he continued, "he turned into a giant armadillo of rocks and started running me down. He couldn't change direction after he began to roll into a ball, though, and I could dodge by pressing against the walls. What I did was cause a cave-in by using Fire Pebble to blow up a few stalactites before he slammed into the resulting pile, then take a few hits while he's stunned as a pile of rubble, himself. His weakpoint, similar to the one Ruedekul had, by the sounds of it, was open at that time. The problem was that he got bigger each time I did this, using rocks from the cave-in to grow. I got to the point where I could barely press against the walls of the tunnel to avoid becoming a lizalfos pancake. He also attacked from a distance when he wasn't there to run me over by causing stalactites to try and spear me. These actually sometimes gave me things like hearts and magic jars, which were small jars full of green potion to replenish my magic reserves, so he really helped me more than hurt me. Still one tough cookie, though."

Link nodded. "Sounds like a tough battle, indeed," he said.

"But that's not all," Samba said, holding a claw up. He gazed off into space as he remembered. "I almost DIED. Thank goodness I had grabbed a fairy before I went into the chamber. What he did for his last hurrah was cast some spell that made the arena some infinite space to hold him. What happened was all the walls of the tunnels had broken and fused into him, making him HUGE. Not to mention fat," he added, chuckling. "This roundness only made him better suited for squishing me, though. I was a bug to him. He threw me far away after taking the tunnels into himself before he began rolling at me. Thankfully, there were still some red stones in the stalactites left--in fact, tons of stalactites could be blown up in a way that they showered a LOT of red stones on the ground that didn't blow up. I baited him to roll into three such showers before he was entirely covered." He grin-smirked. "You can guess what happened next."

Link was the one to snort and cover his mouth this time. "He turned into a living bomb, didn't he?" he asked.

Samba nodded with a smug look on his face. "Never in my life was it so satisfying to watch rocks fly out everywhere. I dealt the finishing blow, and the tunnels soon faded back in after he gave one last explosion. It was amazing."

Link laughed, shaking his head. "Got me beat, for sure," he said. "You were very clever to figure out the way to beat him," he complemented.

Samba shrugged. "I just figured out what I had to do and did it to save Vardi," he said. At the name of his sister, he fell silent and soon looked out the window, parting the curtains.

Link sighed. "Don't worry," he said softly, getting up and putting a hand on the scaly shoulder. "She'll be fine."

Samba stepped away from the curtains and nodded. "I'll save you, Vardi," he growled softly. "I promise."

Link nodded, smiling a bit, before getting to the bed again and getting under the covers. He looked at himself and at Samba. "Erm, the bed only fits one..."

Samba nodded. "I'll sleep on the floor, then," he said. "I'm fine, had to do it last night." He grabbed his bag as a pillow and slept beside the bed, out of sight to anyone just entering the room. "See you in the morning, then, Link," he bade, yawning.

"Yup. Good night, Samba." Link turned and blew out the candle before the two went to sleep.

-

Link and Samba awoke the next morning and did their best to go about their morning alblutions without anyone noticing the monster in the inn. Afterwards, Samba gave Link the contents of his wallet and asked if he could get some fish for him for breakfast. Link went and, wondering if the barkeep was getting suspicious, got the cooked fish for Samba and some food for himself at The Broken Rupee. After Samba had eaten his breakfast, he hid in his ring and Link took the dishes back to the tavern. After that, their first mission began.

South Castle Town was the place where Link found Sound of MuZach. He held the freebie voucher in his hand, looking at it to see if it was the right place before going inside. It was small and quaint, but was still impressive. Instruments, from alto flutes to zithers, lined the walls. A rack held paper sheet music. And behind the counter came a familiar voice.

"OH! Well, now, lookie here!" Link turned and smiled as he saw the singer minstril from before. He was now dressed in a more-simple outfit, a white shirt and brown pants and boots. The minstril smiled and bowed. "Welcome to Sound of MuZach, the place for all your musical needs!" he greeted. "I never thought I'd see YOU again, of all people, to be quite honest. Is that ocarina coming along?" he asked.

Link nodded, smiling. "Like you'd never believe," he said. "I see what you meant in saying music has magic."

The minstril/shopkeep chuckled and nodded. "That's great! I'm very glad I've been able to help someone discover the joy of music," he said. He cleared his throat. "But, nonetheless, this is a business we've got here. So, then..." He bowed again. "My name is Zach. How may I help you?"

Link produced the voucher and watched as Zach's expression went from a polite smile to a flabbergasted jawdrop. "I'd like to use this," Link said. "For a friend of mine."

"Wh-wh-wh-where'd you GET that?!" Zach demanded, taking the voucher. "How...But...Wow...Damn...I thought I only...Hmmmmm..." He looked left and right before leaning over to Link. "You do realize that I actually gave this specific voucher to a very kind, believe it, lizalfos I met when I was part of the Wanderers, a band of nomadic entertainers, right?" he asked in a hushed voice, cupping his hand beside his mouth. "I know it's that one; the date issued on it is a day where only this voucher was handed out."

Samba, despite himself, couldn't help but come right out and ask, "Ko plays instruments?"

Zach squeaked and jumped a bit. "EEP!...Oh! Magic!" He chuckled and put a hand to his chest. "Warn me next time, please!" he asked. He didn't sound negative.

Samba put a paw behind his head, though his ball-of-light form never showed it. "Sorry," he apologized. "But, yeah, we believe you," he said. "After all, I got it as a gift from him."

Zack raised an eyebrow and leaned in to get a close look at the red light in front of him. "Interesting," he muttered before leaning back and smiling slyly. "First time I've ever seen a lizalfos turn himself into a ball of light." He chuckled and nodded. "Well, I'll leave the details to yourselves, but while you're out, why not pick your instrument yourself?" he asked.

Samba bobbed up and down in an exaggerated nod. "Alright," he said. As Zach came from behind the counter, Samba flew over to him while Link, a bit nervous about this, walked after him. "I don't know what I'd like, though," Samba said.

"It'd be easier if you were actually, well, here," Zach said, shrugging. "Don't worry, nobody ever comes into the store this early. And besides, anyone who would probably knows that musicians come in so many shapes and sizes, they wouldn't think much of a monster--no offence to you, of course--getting a string instrument." He smiled at this.

"Hrrmm..." Samba flew to Link. "You think it's safe?" he asked.

Link nodded. "I can trust Zach," he said. "But be ready for a worst case scenario." He removed Samba's ring and motioned for Zack to move before he chucked it out. In the same flash of light, Samba was again solid.

Zach jumped a bit again, but recovered quicker. "Interesting indeed!" he laughed. He tilted his head, furrowing his brow. "First I've ever heard of a blue lizalfos, too," he observed. He shrugged. "Ah, well. Anyway, do you have some idea what you want, at least?" he asked.

Samba shrugged. "Something like a lute or a mandolin," he described.

Zach nodded. "Alright, over here, then," he said, leading them to the far end of the shop. He looked at Samba. "Fancy spell to speak and understand Hylian you've got," he commented.

Samba shook his head. "Nope. This is all experience I'm going on," he said proudly.

Zach pouted his lips impressedly with raised eyebrows, clapping a bit. "And you're doing astoundingly well!" he complimented. "Sorry I mistook it for magic as well!" He stopped at the rack of like instruments and took a lute down. "Anywho, here's a lute," he said, and played a little on it.

Samba tilted his head as he listened. "What about a mandolin?" he asked. Zach kindly got that down (putting the lute back up) and played that as well. Samba growled in thought. "Oh, sorry, I do that when thinking, sometimes," he said hastilly, waving his hands when Zach had descritely taken a step back. Samba sighed and looked at the wall. "Is that--" he began before locking his eyes onto an instrument.

It was a necked and soundbox-bodied instrument, like the mandolin, but its soundbox was shaped somewhat like a wide-bottomed "8". It had a whopping six different strings on it. Samba pointed to it. "What's that?"

"Oh, that? Just a guitar," said Zach, shrugging and getting it down. He strummed it once, producing a mellow, E-A-D-G-B-e (sic) chord that resonated nicely in Link's and Samba's ears. Samba smiled and pointed at it. "You want this one?" Zach asked, slightly surprised. "But it's so complicated...You're sure?" Samba nodded. "Alright..." Zach took the guitar and went to the counter again, the other two following. "Alright, let's record the cashing in of this voucher...get you a pick...and a strap...and your case..." Zach fussied around behind the counter for a moment before smiling at Samba and bringing up the encased instrument. "And here you go! You want a shot at playing it in one of our practice rooms? There's a lesson book included with the case that's very easy to figure out."

Samba, taking the case, nodded, and he and Link went into a back room and shut the door. Link found a lock on it and turned it. "Alright, let's get you used to that guitar," he said, stepping back a moment.

Samba nodded and got it out of its case, hanging it over his shoulder. He took the thin wood pick and put his claws (the pads of them, not the claw parts) on the strings. "I hope my claws don't break this thing," he muttered as he fished out the book and looked at it. "Okay..." He fingered and played some notes, smiling at the sound. "I like this thing!"

After a bit, Link nodded. "Alright, I think you've got it," he said. "You want to play around a bit more?" he asked. Samba shook his head. "Okay, then..." He got out his ocarina. "I'm going to do what Zach did yesterday and play a few notes. I want you to copy me when I say so, alright?" he asked.

Samba nodded and got ready. "Try me," he said, and Link played a few simple quarter notes. Samba tried to copy, but failed a couple times before he got it. As they continued, however, Samba gradually got better and better, and soon, he had memorized the sound that each string makes, then what each first fret makes, then second, then third, and so on until he had memorized five frets each. By then, he had also figured out how to play a scale. Link then tested him by playing a more complicated series of notes. Samba played them all perfectly, even the rhythm. He grinned and looked at his instrument. "I just learned how to play basic guitar!" he realized in joy.

Link clapped for him, smiling. "Very good! It took me all day yesterday to get used to playing my ocarina, and you took only an hour," he complimented. "Okay..." He put his ocarina to his lips. "You ready to learn Zelda's Lullaby?" he asked softly.

Samba nodded, and listened carefully, since Link played quite softly. Like Zelda, he played the first notes twice, then waited for Samba to copy him. Samba did so, note by note, and gasped as he suddenly felt something click. Closing his eyes, he played them again, continuing to finish the eight measures without learning the rest, just like Link had.

Link raised his eyebrows as he noticed this. "Behold the power of music," he muttered in surprise.

Samba looked at his guitar in amazement, looking it up and down, head to body. "Wow," he mouthed. "That was intense..." He had an idea and looked at Link. "Why don't we play together for King Zora?" he asked him.

Link nodded. "Alright..." He put his ocarina to his mouth. "...One, two, three--" They played it together in tempo, starting the first six notes before suddenly stopping as they both felt something click all of a sudden. Then, while Link played the melody, Samba, somehow, played a perfect harmony along with. It was simple, playing a chord at the start of each measure while playing the melody as well.

Link and Samba opened their eyes and looked in amazement at each other before blinking at their instruments. "Woah," they both said. They grinned. "I think we're starting to become more than just warriors," said Link.

"Who would have ever thought that two swordsmen--one of them a monster--had some talent in music?" Samba chuckled.

The two tried it again, starting right away with the full eight measures. Then, sure they had it down, they put their instruments away, unlocked the door, and went outside. Zach smiled at them friendilly. "So, have a good practice session?" he asked.

"You don't know the half of it," grinned Samba before he raised his ring and hid within it. Link, now standing alone with a surprised Zach, looked at his left hand for a moment to make sure Samba was there before he left, waving good-bye to Zach.

"Come again anytime, you two!" Zach called, waving. "If we find a way to costume Samba, maybe both of you could join our show sometime!"

Link, with Samba, walked out of the shop and took a breath while he stretched. "Well," he said, flopping them down again, "let's get going to Zora's Domain." And with that, he was out of Hyrule Castle Town. As soon as they were outside the city on the northern side, Link threw Samba. Samba rematerialized and the two nodded to each other before they began jogging off along the river. They noticed that as long as they had a goal in mind with the rings on, they didn't mind it if they went on and on and on and on--in fact, they felt like they might be able to go on forever, with nary a bit of food, water, or even sleep. Their stamina was limited only by their wounds.

"I think it's the power of the Rings of Dualty," Samba said. He was going a fair bit slower than he normally ran, which could actually match a horse in speed. Instead, he sort of jog-hopped along.

"Yeah," Link agreed. "I bet that's to speed up the process of saving Hyrule." He ran forwards nearly as fast as he could, very surprised he felt no fatigue at all. "You have to admit, it's amazingly handy and one heck of a feeling to know you could run forever."

The two young swordsmen also had to deal with the monsters around the field. When they found a monster that Link had never met or had no real experience with, Samba helped out. One case included a roc. "Hey," Link called after the two had drawn their swords and Link had drawn his shield. "I've dealt with these before, but what are they?"

"That's just a roc," Samba answered. "Despite its name, it rarely if ever spends time on the ground when hunting. You might want to use a ranged weapon to fight them--" He crouched for a second before taking an enourmous leap, clearing the level of his full standing height, and slashing at the squawking monster with a jump attack. He landed on the ground, left paw touching the dirt as well, and stood slowly while sheathing his blade and continuing, "--but I can handle them without wasting any ammo if I really want to, not to brag."

Link gawked. "How the HELL can you jump so high?!" he asked.

Samba chuckled. "I have big, strong quads and footpaws," he answered as he walked over. He looked at his feet in interest. "Though, I could have sworn, my footpaws were just a LITTLE smaller than they are now before I went into the Empty Cavern," he observed.

"Maybe you bulked them with muscle when you were going through it somehow?" Link suggested as he sheathed his sword and walked along with Samba.

Samba shook his head. "That doesn't make sense," he said. "My footpaws would only get bigger with muscle were I working my talons more. Remember, the muscle that moves a part of you is one step further into your body than that part. Your upper arm moves your lower, and so on. I wasn't working my talons that much, though they ARE always pretty strong, for some reason," he said, stopping by a medium-small, flat rock and easily picking it up with his talons as if grasping with only his four main claws and lifting his leg up. He held it there for a second before he tossed the rock up straight with his leg, spun, and batted the stone away with his tail. The rock soared right off to the wide Hylia river and skipped across it a few times before almost making it to the other side. "Hey, that was pretty well-aimed," Samba said in surprise while hooding his eyes with a paw and watched.

Link raised an eyebrow at all this. "Are all lizalfos like that?" he asked.

Samba shook his head as he continued to walk along, Link following. "No," he answered. "I'm a bit different from them. My footpaws look a little different from theirs, but I can't be anything BUT a lizalfos. Just a weird-looking one." He shrugged and beckoned with his arm. "C'mon, let's get going to Zora's Domain!" he called and started jogging along. Link followed and the journey continued.

They faced more adversaries as they went, and curious Link desired to know about them as much as he could.

"C'mon, you've fought moblins before, Link! That's a Hylian Moblin, specifically. They're a bit stupider than most of us lizalfos, but they're smart enough to weild a spear and pack of javelins pretty well. Fight 'em anyway you want, but keep that shield up for the javelins!"

"Hey, it's a bokoblin. They're in the same famly as moblins and are a fair bit weaker, though they're a smidge smarter. They prefer attacking in small groups with clubs and arrows. The melee ones are easy to deal with--it's the annoying archers you need to watch out for. They try and stay at a distance, so beat them at their own game! By the way, did you know that you can take any arrows that miss you and stick in some other surface?"

"Hold on...(Translation: Hey, you leave us be and we'll leave you be!)...Dang, not listening, as I thought. Making up the majority of the lizalfos population, nomadic lizalfos are, sadly, a little stupider than we are, but just as good at swordfighting. Block their sword attacks and have at them, but don't expect my kind to go down without a fight!"

They even went on through the night. The feeling they got as they jogged onwards through the darkness, defending themselves as they had to, was that of both eerie calm and unsettling trouble. The sound of the river flowing along calmed them a fair bit. They had to face enemies throughout the night, and even more, too.

"There really isn't much else to keese apart from them being annoying," Samba replied when Link asked for any detailed information on the common enemy of dungeons. "They mostly hide in dark places and like to harry people. Just give them a nice spin attack if they're close or use your boomerang. Just MAKE SURE they're not on fire, or you'll burn your wooden shield!"

"HUH?" Link looked at Samba in surprise. "They can survive being caught on fire?" he asked.

"Us monsters are strange and mysterious little beasties," Samba said with a smirk before he jumped and kicked a keese away.

At midnight, they reached the fork of the river that goes towards Lake Hylia. "You wanna try swimming across?" asked Link. "It looks like a strong current..."

"Let's look for a bridge, then," suggested Samba, and they went along the river for a ways. Twenty minutes later, they found one right before the river fell off a cliff and went into Lake Hylia--a broken one.

Link grumbled. "We're gonna have to go around the lake or take a dip," he said.

"I can swim, but I can't swim for very long," Samba said, frowning annoyedly. "I bet I could jump across this, though--those support posts that are still there in the middle of the river should be enough for me to make it. I can't piggyback you, though."

"I'll hide, then," Link said. He held his hand up, and in a flash of green, he was in his ring. A blue flash came from his hand and flew to Samba's. In blue and green flashes, Samba was made the "leader," as they decided to call whoever had Nayru's Ring of Dualty. Link appeared out of his ring and looked up at Samba as a ball of green light. "Hurry up, I don't wanna look at your ugly mug all night," he chuckled.

Samba frowned. "Hey, I'm not exactly popular with the ladies, but still!" he joked back. He looked at the posts ahead of him (Link hiding away again) and took a few steps back. He ran and jumped across, using the posts as stepping stones. He made it across fine. After he did, he threw both Link and Nayru's Ring as he had practiced. Link reappeared and saw Nayru's Ring reappear on his finger. "Alright, let's keep going," Samba said, and the two continued.

Finally, after another day, the two made it to the source of the river. "Zora's Domain lies right ahead," Link said as the two looked over at the cove naturally and artifically carved out at the foot of a mountain range that was at the very northern end of Hyrule that had no relation to Death Mountain, which was west of it. "Want to wait until everyone's up before we step in?" he asked. "We don't want to cause a ruccus. Besides, there's some gates ahead and some guards. They might not want to let folks in before daylight."

Samba nodded. "Sure," he said. He sat down on the shore of the river. "Thanks to the rings, I don't have to sleep if I don't want to, and I don't feel like it." He brought out his fishing rod and assembled it before he flicked it out into the river. "I'll just practice some fishing to pass the time. You do whatever."

Link nodded and sat under a tree nearby and got out his ocarina. He played it for a while, just tuning around. Samba ended up catching a few fish. Since it was his normal job to do so, he recorded any new fish he caught in the fishing log he always had with him, as well as any new records. "I want you guys to show me how you've improved," explained the foreman when he gave the new recruits, which included Samba, the logs a couple years ago. "When you can, go ahead and show me your new records. If I like the progress, you'll get a reward."

Samba also kept the fish in a special bag he also carried with that was made to keep fish fresh and ready for cooking. Just because they didn't need to eat didn't mean he wanted some food now and then. He didn't cook any now, but he decided to go ahead and practice his guitar a little more. His claws still weren't used to chords, so he practiced whatever chords sounded good, occasionally reading the lesson book by the moonlight.

In fact, an hour or so before dawn, Samba walked over to Link and sat down next to him, resting his guitar on his knee. Together, the two began just tuning along, Link going first before Samba went. Then, somehow locking into a groove, they began playing some made-up song, Samba playing chords and harmony as the two let their love of music combine with the magic their instruments unlocked. In Hyrule, this could happen a lot if people tried it, actually--the latent magic of the land enhanced the magic already within music and channeled through the performers and helped them bring out their talent.

They saw the sun come up and they went along and played along with a song that they could practically hear. It was a light and happy tune that described the feeling of dawn and the new day perfectly, and the melody sounded perfect on the ocarina. Afterwards, they smiled and stood up, stretched, put their instruments away, and set off to the entrance of Zora's Domain.


	8. Zoras, Guardians of the Master Sword

Link and Samba stepped forward to the gates of Zora's Domain. The gates themselves were situated between two great stone walls separating the rest of Hyrule, on either side of the river, from the aquatic people's home. It even went in the water. It was composed of black metal strips worked into intricate designs of lines and curves. Examining the gates closer could reveal water-themed shapes amid the swirls and dips. On either side of the river stood a pair of guards, zoras dressed in armor and weilding spears. The ones on the side Link and Samba were on crossed their spears as they approached. "Halt!" called the left when they were nearby, holding out the other hand. "What business do you have in Zora's Domain?"

"Specifically, what business does a monster have?" added the other, who was holding his hand out, as well.

Link and Samba, stopping when told to (well, Link did, but Samba had to be yanked by the tail to get back), answered that they were there to see King Zora and that Samba meant no harm whatsoever.

The first guard scoffed and put his hand to his hip. "Really, now...Seeing King Zora? And why would he want to see you two? And how come I doubt a monster ever means anything but harm?"

Samba narrowed his eyeridges just as the other said, "Well, you have to admit, not many lizalfos can speak Hylian," to his fellow guard.

The first looked over at him, then back at the two adventurers. "...Alright. But still, what're you here to see the king for?" he asked. At the reply, both guards jerked back a bit. "The...The Master Sword?!" repeated the first. They leaned over and looked at them closer (they were a bit taller than them).

"H-How d'you guys know about it being...?" hoarsely whispered the second. At the answer, they scoffed simultaneously. "Yeah, right, Princess Zelda?" skeptically said the second.

"Nice try. Give us proof, and then we'll see," said the first. They both stood up again and put a free hand on their hip, spears still crossed.

Link and Samba looked at one another before nodding. Link got out his ocarina and Samba his guitar. They played Zelda's Lullaby in front of the guards (in a more basic form, though, with both playing the melody instead of Samba doing chords as well). When finished, they looked up to see the two had reared back in surprise a little. 'I think that did it,' Link thought.

"No way!!" said the second. "That's the song of the Royal Family of Hyrule! How could a LIZALFOS learn that, let alone BOTH of you?!"

"And why would there be TWO people after the Master Sword?" asked the first. They shook their heads, however, and stood straight again, spears paralell once more. "Urgh...That's enough evidence you've ties to the princess, though," the first admitted. "Whatever you do, be respectful and behave in front of the king!"

The guards, in unison, struck the butts of their spears on the ground. The gate, with a sound of machinery, seperated and went inside the rock walls. When they were fully opened, the second guard added, "Oh, and welcome to Zora's Domain!" before both were quiet and let them through.

Link and Samba nodded together and went inside. They saw a giant cove in the mountain. A gargantuan natural pool and equally large waterfall met their eyes as the centerpiece--the water source for all of Hyrule. It appeared that one might, somehow, make it up to the top of the waterfall by navigating the rock shelves around the pool. Zoras, some armored and most not, walked about the rock rim or swam in the pool. Some unarmored ones were clothed, but most weren't. Samba sighed and smiled a bit. "Wow. I'm a lot more comfortable here than I thought I would," he commented. "Must be because it reminds me of home."

Link smiled a little at his teammate before looking around and thinking. 'Where IS the king?' he wondered. 'If he's up there, how do we get there? Must be a way using the stone around the pool, but...' He looked around. There were a few caves cut into the walls of the main paths the rims took, which, themselves, were either worked or merely hewn. Directly to their right was a large one, but it was blocked by a wall of boulders. 'Maybe...but those could well be houses or something, not paths...'

The two were at the southeastern side of the pool after entering the city of zoras. They went around counter-clockwise. Along the way, they met a few of the zoras out and about. "Huh? Ah, visitors! Here to see the beauty of Zora's Domain, I see!" commented one they passed by.

Link stopped and asked, "Could you tell me where the king is?"

The zora nodded. "Sure." He held an arm out, the long fin attatched giving grace to the gesture, and indicated the waterfall. "Over up there. He usually accepts free audiences with normal people, but lately he's been a little cranky. Just try and mind your manners." He looked back at Link and Samba as he advised them.

Link thanked him and they went onwards. After hopping across a gap in the rocks, they started a bit as another zora practically appeared from thin air. "Thin water" might be a better term, though, as he came splashing up out of the pool by the side, whipping his head fin...tendril...thing, as someone might their hair. He put a hand to his mouth and widened his black eyes a little when he saw the two there. "Did I scare you? My apologies!" he said. He lowered his hand again and tread water while he tilted his head. "Say, you look a little lost. Do you need help with anything?"

Samba replied, "Yeah; we need to see King Zora, but what exactly do we do to get to him?"

"Getting to King Zora, huh..." The zora looked around. "Well, as you can see, there's a great deal of rock around the place," he said. "We zoras use these as pathways. Our home is mostly underwater, through areas you'll need to breathe down there to see, but some of us inhabit caves on the surface, as you can see with the archways around. We also use these pathways as a means to reach our king." He turned back to them. "There are a few ramp pathways about, but recently, some rocks have fallen from above and blocked them almost all off. Some of them are in worse shape than others and will need the help of a few gorons. That is, of course, if King Zora stops being, sorry to say, immature towards their leader..." He shook his head. "Sorry, but you'll have to get creative if you want to see him. Good luck." He dove away and out of sight again.

Link and Samba looked around the Domain. Some of the ledges were somewhat broken, and some places bore stones sticking out one near another and going higher. Link remembered watching Samba the day before and said, "I think I've got it." Samba turned to him with a questioning glance. "You can jump pretty high, right?"

Samba raised his eyeridges and nodded. "I think I get it, too," he said. "You want me to be the leader and jump my way around?"

Link nodded, taking off Nayru's Ring of Dualty. "It's only fair," he said. "I had to shut you inside Din's Ring in Hyrule Castle Town, and now I have to be shut inside Faroe's."

Samba nodded thoughtfully, putting a claw to his chin. "True." He held his paw out and accepted the ring, putting it on. Link then hid in his, and Samba was the leader. He looked down the path ahead of him. "Let's go." He jogged off, going towards one end. He saw a grass-covered area ahead to the side of the path after another gap and jumped up to the higher area. He could clear it just fine, and he knew Link could likely reach the edge with his hands to pull himself up. He looked around.

A wall of boulders was directly in front of him. "That must be one of those ramps the zora guy mentioned," he muttered. Thinking more into it and remembering seeing others already, he realized that there were more than a few of those passages around. He looked to his right and saw that a rock stuck up from the grass near an edge that faced the side of a pathway-ledge above the first. He went from the rock to the pathway and continued, the pool now to his right. He stopped near a pretty hanging bridge, whose slats were carved with more aquatic designs, in the middle of the pathway upon seeing a few stones jutting from the wall on the left side of the chasm. (The right side was the waterfall.) He jumped from the edge of the pathway not connected to the bridge and landed on the big rock he saw a bit below. He made his way between the walls, jumping up between rocks and using them as platforms. The chasm became narrower as he went upwards. After a point, he began running out of rocks to get to with ease, and was soon apparantly stuck. He saw a large crack in the opposite wall, however, that might lead him somewhere. He jumped over, grabbed it with his claws, and went paw-over-paw along before, as luck would have it, he ended up on the edge of the third level. He hoisted himself up and looked both ways.

To his left was a long pathway with a bulged-out part near the end. A big wall of rubble was opposite the apex of the bulge's curve, and a smaller one was nearer to him. To his right was a short gap and a large hole in the wall. A pathway snaked out of it near the top and went all the way around and up above him. "That's gotta be where we're supposed to go," Samba said. He looked across the pool and squinted in the morning light. Another ledge, way on the other side and about level with him, bore a small hole in the wall filled with rocks. He spotted a few red ones there, as well, and knew he should investigate. The ledge, on the other side of the gap in the wall made by the grassy area, was connected with a broken hanging bridge.

"There're only a few slats and pieces left for me to jump across," observed the lizalfos after he got to the near end and took a look at it. "Unless I want to take an age with the ropes...which might break..." Behind him was the big hole from before. He shrugged and, gulping, leaped over. He landed on one thin slat, jumped to a chunk still in the lower rope on the left side and quickly got to the next slat before the rope twisted and sent him plumetting to the stone pathway below. He continued on, going to another slat, then another chunk in rope and another--right then left--before, with a growling sigh of relief, making it to the ledge.

He examined the rubble and the red rocks. He nodded and got out a pebble. "Hope this works," he muttered, and threw a Fire Pebble at a red rock. The rock glowed and, a second later, exploded, taking out a few more pieces of rubble with it. He didn't utterly clear it, but with a few more explosions, he blew the blockage away and cleared the path. He looked in and saw that it curved somewhat sharply to the right, going up at a steady incline. He followed it and found himself crossing a stone bridge between the walls of the grassy area. As he went, he noted the turns; the walls curved from the floor smoothly up and around, like a pipe. 'I wonder if water went through here at some point.' He came out of the big hole he had seen before. Below was the ledge he had left a minute or two ago. After seeing this, the lizalfos pumped his arm in victory. "Yassss!! I made it!" he hissed, using a word for "yes" in his native language.

Continuing on and noticing that the outside of the turn into the hole was walled by a rounding wall, as well, Samba trotted on. The gap behind the waterfall ended before the pathway, though he remembered it climbed a bit higher than that. He shrugged and went onwards, reaching the end of the forth-level path and turning a tight left hairpin and continuing up a steeper path. He noticed that, as he reached the end of it, the path merged with another one that was somewhat steep, but quick for those with the legstrength and stamina. After getting onto level ground again, he looked around and saw a broad, natural area to his right and a fine, worked pathway ahead. It went into the area the waterfall was fed from, following the stream. The other side was just a short natural path to a ledge overlooking the pool. "I think it's safe to say we're there," Samba said, taking both other rings off and throwing them.

After Link appeared, the lizalfos walked over to examine how high up they were. "Thanks, and good job," Link complimented as he passed by the hylian. He squeaked and ran to grab his tail when he noticed a loss of balance at the edge.

Samba had looked over the edge and gotten such vertigo that he'd almost fallen down. He thanked Link for saving him and took a few breaths. "Sorry," he said. "I'm not exactly fond of heights...more used to sticking to the ground..."

Link peeped down himself, braver than Samba. He couldn't help but gulp at the pool below--the ledges more directly below than the water. He then turned to the path to the royal chamber. "Well, we're up here, so let's get going to King Zora," he said, beckoning, and ran off. Samba followed him.

The stream leading to the waterfall went straight for a bit, but soon turned at a bit of an angle instead of a smooth curve. At the vertex was the royal chamber. In a circular room were a few torches, some guards, and, in a throne at the opposite end of the chamber, a...large, we'll say, zora with a regal cape and headress. This was King Zora.

The guards at the entrance of the room didn't stop them. Link noticed this. 'I guess they're confident they can protect their king well enough,' he thought. The two went on, crossing a short bridge to reach the other side and King Zora. As they approached, King Zora watched them with pompous, but quiet, eyes. The swordsmen noticed a rectangular platform before the ruler, a place where people would kneel when in audience. Link knelt down first, then Samba on his left. "Your Highness," Link addressed.

King Zora scowled slightly as he nodded. "Yes, it is King Zora you kneel before. Very wise to kneel, indeed, too. And who are you?" he asked. His voice sounded a bit snotty. The helmets of the guards on either side and a bit behind him hid any facial expression, but their miniscule fidgets were enough to express their discomfort at their king's voice.

Link, head still bowed, answered, "Link and Samba, two swordsmen sent by Princess Zelda to retrieve the Master Sword."

King Zora snapped, "ExCUSE me?! A country bumpkin and a MONSTER?! Have you come to mock me?!" He looked at his guards. "Get these liars out of my sight," he ordered.

Samba growled at King Zora, looking up with his eyes. "Your Highness, could we at least prove we speak the truth?" he asked as lowered spears came around the two.

"...Oh, really, now? You claim proof?" asked King Zora, crossing his arms with a scoff. "If you give me anything illigit, then know that you'll be sent flying off the waterfall--back first," he warned. "You still think you've proof?"

Link and Samba glanced at each other. "If we don't give him proof, he'll never let us in again," Link whispered. "On the other hand, if he doesn't believe the Lullaby, we're in for quite a lot of pain, hitting the water as we would be..."

"We're screwed either way, though," Samba pointed out, whispering as well. "We might as well."

Link nodded and said, louder, "Yes," and grabbed Samba, who was about to rise before being permitted.

"Then rise and show me," commanded the king, motioning with his hand. The guards stepped back and let the two rise. Link and Samba nodded to each other and whipped out their instruments.

"One...two...and..." Link counted off, tapping his foot, and the two played Zelda's Lullaby the way they had practiced two mornings ago at Sound of MuZach. When they were finished, they looked up at King Zora.

The fish was a bit pale. "Th...That's...But...How..." he stuttered before sighing annoyedly and crossing his arms, bowing his head, and closing his eyes. "Good greif...What's the world come to if a monster were to be taught the song of the Royal Family..." he muttered before bringing his head up and opening his eyes to look at the two. "Well, since only those associated with the Royal Family know that aged song, I believe you are at least as such," he admitted grumpilly. "Guards, as you were."

As the guards went back to their normal posts, Link and Samba knelt again. "Thank you, Your Highness," Link said.

King Zora nodded. "Of course," he said. "Now, you said something about Zelda and the Master Sword?"

"Yes," Samba confirmed. "I know this may seem crazy, but Princess Zelda has entrusted us, the bearers of the Rings of Dualty, with the task of getting the Master Sword from the Temple of Time Ruins so that we may have a chance at defeating the evil that begins to threaten Hyrule."

"Bearers of the Rings of Dualty?" repeated the zora. When the two raised them up, he raised his eyebrows. "Unmistakable, with such exquisite and unearthly luster...Now, I see, this must be the truth...However, you must be warned that the ruins aren't exactly easy to navigate. Though, since you have those rings, it must not be too hard for you with what you undoubtedly have endured...?"

"If you mean going through a giant deathtrap of a maze and fighting a Leviathan, then, yes, you're right," Link said with a hint of wryness.

King Zora nodded. "Then get going. It's to be found within Zora's Fountain, our sacred grounds and rumored home of our deity, Lord Jabu-Jabu, so tread with respect! Now, good luck." He clapped his hands in a particular rhythm for a moment.

Slowly, the grate blocking access to the other end of the stream rose. When it was up, King Zora gave them permission to rise and go. Nodding, they quickly ran off through the opened area, going along a narrow ledge near the stream.

-

They came out of the tunnel to a giant, very deep lake, which turned out to actually be a spring. Steep walls climbed up and revealed the mountain around them. Only a bird could get here otherwise. The ledge became a platform with a shallow amount of water. They splashed on and found a spot of dry land with a cave entrance across the water. Samba sighed and hid in his ring to let Link help him get somewhere, this time.

Link, groaning at the fact he'd need to get wet again, jumped into the water and swam across. After a good minute of swimming at a moderate rate (without pressing B to go faster, a trick in OoT I learned only after getting Master Quest), he reached the islet in the middle of the fountain. There was barely anything else besides the cave. The cave itself actually came right out of the ground and resembled a seashell curving into the ground. A slope led downwards. Letting Samba out again, the two went downwards.

As they went, the world became darker as a window of light rose, shrinking, behind them. "Why would they build a temple underground this far?" wondered Samba.

"Well, it's the only place we could go," Link said, shrugging in the darkness.

"Yeah, but still, I can't help but feel like we're getting ourselves more and more lost..." Samba muttered. "This slope's going pretty straight, though, I can see."

"Eh?"

"Night vision?"

"Oh, yeah."

They went down and down for a while. However, finally, after a few minutes, they began to feel an odd sensation. "What in..." Link muttered. Then, slowly, a light began to shine below them. It was dim at first, but it gradually got brighter--a boon to their eyes, since a sudden flash would blind them for at least half an hour. Excited, they began running towards it, forgetting they were on a slope. Therefore, it is no surprise that they ended up exiting the long pathway in a bundled heap of scale and skin.

"That wasn't very fun," groaned Link as he waited for the world to stop spinning.

"I knew that was a bad idea," growled Samba, shaking his head and getting up on a paw. "I'm glad I've got a helmet on, now..." The helm had protected his head from major damage, being padded inside with some thick leather.

"Hey, can you get off me, now?" Link asked.

"Unwrap your leg from my arm, first." Samba then got up on both paws and was about to get off when he found another problem.

"Your kneeling on my isn't helping!"

"Neither is your body on my tail!"

"Get off me, then!"

"How?"

Link growled. "Roll off onto your back or something!!"

"Urgh..." Samba did as he was told, Link got up, and they both stood, brushing themselves off. "Remind me never to act like a living boulder," Samba joked.

"Remind me never to make you into one," Link joked back.

"How?"

"Pushing."

The two then looked around them. To their amazement, they were now in a forest. Sunlight poured down and stone ruins spread from around them. The stones were overgrown with the forest floor and vines hung across the walls. There was a fallen tree lying against a wall directly across from the tunnel, vines overgrown on it forming a smooth, rounded ramp with the ground. An archway to the left of that led to another ruined room. Spikey vines stretched from top to floor from it, blocking them. Link leading, they went onwards.

After Link used a spin attack to detatch some vines from the floor and his boomerang to sever them above, they went through and into the next room. There, they found some new enemies--8-foot-tall walking skeletons with armor and swords! Only two of them, but still a threat.

"And these are...?" Link asked, raising his shield as one came forth.

Samba gripped his sword as he answered, "I think these are called Stalfos. They're skeletons with armor, shields and swords that they know how to use pretty well. You'll have to be quicker to the draw or get them from behind to win." He turned and blocked a sword slash from the other with his buckler.

Link had a somewhat easier time with the stalfos than Samba did, seeing as he was the better swordfighter between them. (Though, as well, Samba was busy finding out that his kicks and tail slams did surprisingly little to their heads, where he usually aimed, which may have been another factor.) He even went and destroyed the one attacking his scaly teammate after he was done with his. Samba was a little peeved, but he didn't show it. They then observed the room more closely.

It was a four-way room, with an archway like before to the north, east, and west (they had entered from the one to the south). (Directions are only given for you readers' sake; they didn't know where North was at this time.). To their left, the west, was a bunch of those vines from before, but more tough-looking. They appeared to grow from a strange, patterned groove running along the archway. The eastern arch went to the thick forest, thus nowhere, though they thought they saw a stone pathway around the foliage. The northern one was the only other one they could see, and it, too, was blocked with a stone wall behind it. They found a strange object in a niche above the keystone, though, that looked like an open monster's mouth.

"Maybe we need to do something with it?" suggested Samba. "Feed it somehow?"

"Best bet we've got," Link said.

They got closer and found, to their startled surprise, three giant spiders come down from the branches overhead to front of them. They stopped at different levels, oddly. Link was caught unawares and was too late to listen to Samba's warning cry, so he got smacked away by a sharply rotating body slam from the lowest one.

"Those are Big Skulltulas," explained Samba, looking down at his comrade. "They're probably the biggest spiders most people will see, should they see them at all. Their backs are protected by a hard shell, but their stomachs aren't. They have quite a range in their only form of attack, a rotating body slam, though."

"So I see," Link grumbled, getting up and holding his head. "I doubt they're stupid enough to show it to me, though," he said.

"Yeah," Samba said, crossing his arms. "They were, at one time, but not for the last couple hundred or so years. I was thinking one of us could circle around it somehow and get it, like you throw me in ring form and get it. Thing is, they usually hang out in places where that's impossible--in front of doors or in corridors, in this case."

"Then what CAN we do?" Link asked.

"Well, their shells aren't exactly impenetrable," Samba said. "Aim a stab at them with enough force and it'll go right through."

Link nodded. He tried with his sword, stabbing as hard as he could, but it didn't work. The giant bug swung left to right like a pendulum, smacking against the walls. He grumbled and walked away. "Let's see if there's another way," he said.

Samba frowned and followed. The big skulltulas crept up again as they left. Samba turned and noticed the mouth again. "Wait a minute," he muttered, stopping. He squinted at the stone decoration. "Hey, I know what that thing's supposed to be," he said.

Link looked over his shoulder and stopped, turning around again. "Hm?"

"That sculpture," pointed the lizalfos. "It's a small monster called a Gruncher. They're harmless, dining solely on bugs. They can even eat poisonous bugs, and apparantly like them, since they eat venomous ones like spiders whenever they can."

Link raised his eyebrows. "Wait, that's it!" he said, snapping his fingers. He put his sword and shield away and brought out his bow. "This thing's pretty good; the arrows fly straight for quite a ways and at quite a speed." He nocked an arrow in and crept forwards. Again, the oversized bugs slid down, but Link stopped after hearing them come. They stopped in front of him and he saw that, after he stepped a little around the one in front of him, they lined up in a perfect shot. "This HAS to work," he muttered, pulling back and aiming.

THWIHP-SKREEK-SKREEK-SKREEK-THUNK!

The arrow pierced the skulltula and flew off to the next, forming a shiskabob of them before giving them to the Gruncher sculpture's open mouth. When the arrow landed inside, the mouth slammed shut around the bugs and drew back, taking them with it. (They disappeared, anyway, though, since they WERE monsters.) As soon as it did, the wall, with a rumbling and shaking of dust, lowered down.

Link pumped his arm in victory and put his bow away. "Knew it!" he muttered. He trotted ahead, Samba following. They came out onto a balcony with a broken stone railing. The posts were all that remained, and they weren't exactly blunt. Ahead on the ground, Link saw four crystal switches arranged in a group. Below them in the center was a fading painted ring that was actually an arrow going clockwise, upon further examination. The eagle of Hyrule was in the center in goldleaf, the background once black as night but now faded away to show green-grey stone beneath. Nearer to them was a circle of stone floor, identical and symmetrically placed to one on the other side of the room. Directly across from the two's balcony was another balcony, this one with an intact handrail.

Link thought for a moment. "I bet I'm supposed to hit those switches with a spin attack--and only me, since there's the symbol for the hylian race down there, sorry--to raise a platform bridge..." He looked at the handrail remains and frowned. "Don't want to hurt my feet on these sharp posts, though...and there's no room for my foot between them..."

"What about your boomerang?" suggested Samba. "You told me it hits multiple things..."

Link jerked his head up and nodded, smiling. "Of course! Thanks!" He attempted it, even lapping it, starting at the spot the arrow began/ended. However, it failed--the platforms, including the large circular one the switches were on, came up a little ways, but fell back down again after the boomerang returned. "I must not have done it enough times," Link muttered, trying for as many laps as he could imagine before throwing again. This time, after going around three times, the platforms came up all the way and stayed there. Link grabbed his boomerang and put it away, smiling. "Love this thing."

As Link stepped over the wall and onto the first platform, Samba couldn't help but get the feeling that this mechanism was very similar to SOMEthing, SOMEwhere. (Free cookie to anyone who can tell what! Hint: It's Nintendo-related.) He shook his head and hopped over the wall. The duo continued on, jumping across the platforms to the balcony at the other end. They went through the archway and found a giant door in a clearing ahead of them. The ruins of some walls on either side were just high enough to thwart Samba's impressive jump. A Triforce was visible on the ground in front of the door, however. While Link examined the rest of the room for switches or something, Samba went over to the symbol.

'Isn't this also used as the crest of the Royal Family?' he wondered, looking down at the triangles between and beneath his large footpaws. Curious, he tried something different. He got out his guitar and strummed Zelda's Lullaby.

Link turned to the sound, tilting his head. "Huh? What's the point of that?" he asked, going towards his teammate after he was finished.

A rumbling suddenly came from the door. They turned and saw the stone opening away from them. Samba grinned and half-eyed smugly. "I think we've got another thing to keep in mind," he said, pointing down while still looking at Link. He stepped off of it while Link looked at it and went to the doors. Link followed and caught up a second later. Together, they went forwards and into the next room.

It was square and held nothing but a pedestal in the center of a circular dias. Six circular symbols were seen around it, each different. A high wall piece directly across from them held a nigh-untouched stained glass window. The stone was the most overgrown here, obscuring everything but the sword in the pedestal.

Link gasped and stepped forth slowly, Samba following. They went together to the sword before stopping before it. They looked down at it. The dark green hilt, wrapped with indigo cord. The winglike indigo handguard. The gems in the pommel and crosspiece (I think that's the middle of the place the handguard, hilt, and blade all meet). The blade's shape. The stylized Triforce etching. All of it was untouched; not even a mote of dust lay upon the weapon in its pedestal.

As they got nearer, the Rings of Dualty began to glow gently. They looked at them now, then at each other. They nodded. Samba stepped aside a bit and Link went in front of the sword. Then, slowly, with reverence, he clutched first his left, then right hand around the hilt. He stepped his feet about, spreading them apart to brace himself properly, and took a deep breath. After a countdown in his head, he jerked up with a grunt.

SHIING!! The sword came straight up and out of the rhombus-shaped pedestal and now hung in Link's hands, point directly down. Seconds after it came out, a light began to shine from the pedestal, where the sword was before. The rings began glowing very intensely. Then, suddenly, the light shone brightly from all the sources mentioned. The light from the pedestal, light blue, began to incorporate rays of red, medium blue, and green light as it spread out with force, causing both young men to grunt and brace themselves. It was so bright, they had to sheild their eyes a bit, Samba lucky enough to have his paws free. The light spread outwards around the dias, destroying the overgrowth as it did. When it reached the six symbols, they lit up a different color each--yellow, green, red, blue, orange, violet. When it finally reached the perimeter of the dias, it halted and became a curtain of light around the edge, shimmering with the same lights as before.

The curtain became like a pillar, shooting towards the heavens. A few seconds afterwards, the three rays--red, blue, and green--fell back down and onto Samba, the sword, and Link, respectively. Then, the rays came down entirely, twisting about into a knot that came into a ball of light with tendrils from the three targets coming from it. The ball fell and floated between the three, twining the ropes of luster together before spreading to them all. As the light filled them, Link and Samba felt a power like the kind felt before, when first wearing the Rings of Dualty. This time, they felt connected utterly--to each other and to the sword.

Finally, the light display ended when the pillar faded and the red, blue, and green lights finished absorbing into the three targets. They all stopped glowing a moment before everything else did. Link finally could move freely, taking the sword in one hand, now. Wearing a face of resolute knowing, he held the sword point-up and raised it high. The sun shone off of it, glinting across the blade.

Link and Samba got the Master Sword.

Link looked it up and down before abruptly testing it out by swinging at the air before him. Samba backed up a bit, and just in time, too; Link ended his test with a spin attack. Satisfied, Link held the Master Sword with his right hand while he reached back to switch swords. He grasped air and gasped. "Betta's sword!"

"Betta's sword?" repeated Samba, walking over to examine. "Oh! You mean your old one? It's...totally replaced," he told him, eyes wide at the sheath on Link's back. "The sheath, too. It's bigger and...well, niftier."

Link furrowed his brow and put the Master Sword inside it, doing his fancy sheathing. It fit like a glove. "It's for the Master Sword," he said. "But where...?"

Samba thought a moment, growling softly. Then, he snapped his claws. "Idea! Link, lend me Nayru's Ring," he said.

Link did as he was told, having it teleport to Samba's claw from his finger. As soon as he did, the Master Sword flashed light blue and, as motes of light, shot to Samba's sword, where it glowed and reformed. In its place was Betta's sword, and now Samba was the one without a normal sword. Link raised his eyebrows.

"I was right!" Samba exclaimed in surprise, looking at the Master Sword. "Whenever we switch who's the leader, the Master Sword will replace the sword of whoever's 'it'. THAT'S how the rings work!" He raised an eyeridge impressedly as he spoke. "Efficient. One would expect nothing less from godesses, though."

Link smiled a bit, chuckling. "Yeah. Alright, we agreed that I'm first, so may I have it back?" he asked, putting a hand on his side and slouching a bit.

Samba nodded. "First, though," he said quietly, looking down at the blade belted at his waist. His face furrowed into worry. 'Can I...Can I really...?' He cautiously tested the hilt with a clawtip, tapping it quickly, before slowly gripping it entirely. As slowly, he drew the blade out, making a long, low ring: Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiing. Once it was all the way out, he held it up in wonder, jaw agape. "I don't believe it," he whispered, looking at his reflection in the blade.

Link watched, understanding coming to him when he realized that what he was seeing was history in the making: a monster safely holding the Master Sword.

Samba slowly smiled as he flicked it around a bit. "I'm actually...I'm actually holding the Master Sword without getting burned, as anyone else would if they so much as touch its hilt!!" he nearly roared in joy. He, too, tested the sword by swinging it a bit, ending with a two-handed spinning overhead strike. He let out a short roar of excitement. "This is AMAZING!!" He chuckled and did his fancy sheathing, too. He turned to Link and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, it's just that...well...I'm a monster, and...well, you can understand, right?" Link nodded, and Samba nodded back. "Alright. Now, then," he said, and raised his right paw. In the same short show as before, the Master Sword transferred weilders. "There. Let's get out of here, now, shall we?" suggested Samba, turning to the exit of the room.

Link nodded and turned, facing the exit as well. Then, the two jogged out of the chamber of the Master Sword and back into the Temple of Time Ruins. They found the puzzles were still solved, thankfully, but the enemies returned. Link and Samba shot down the big skulltulas from behind before they came over to the middle of the room they were in. To neither's surprise, the stalfos returned. Link got out the Master Sword, saying he wanted a chance to get used to the sword, especially since it was a bit heavier and more than a bit longer than Betta's sword.

When he found he defeated a stalfos quite quickly compared to before, he looked in awe at the blade. "Hot DAMN," he commented, grinning mischievously as he realized the power he now held. "This is going to make life a LOT easier!" He held it in stance again and went for the other stalfos, who was currently fighting Samba. To his disappointment, Samba defeated it before Link got there.

"Same number of hits, just more chances," Samba said, shrugging and giving an "Oh, well" smirk to Link. Link drooped, making the lizalfos laugh.

Together, they made their way back to the tunnel and went up it. After a long, winding climb, they made it back out to Zora's Fountain. Link felt like taking a bit of a rest, since that tunnel strangely neutralized the stamina-enhancing effects of the rings, and they sat for a few moments. Afterwards, Samba hid into his ring and Link swam across the lake again. Link let Samba out again as soon as he safely could, as was becoming usual whenever either had to hide. Together, the duo trotted back to King Zora's chamber.

"I see you got it," King Zora said after the two knelt before him again. "And the lizalfos can use it?"

"To my surprise," Samba answered, smiling a bit.

King Zora sighed and shook his head. "Of all the creatures the godesses chose..." he muttered. He looked up again and said, "Well, now that you have the sword, you obviously don't have any more business here. You may leave, now." Link and Samba looked up at the same time, looks of surprise on their faces. King Zora scowled at them. "What, you expect me to help you more somehow? I don't even know how else I could! You had best get back to Zelda as soon as possible, besides, if your orders are from her in the first place."

At that moment, a young zora came running in, panting and apparantly pretty tired. He must have climbed around the whole place. "Y...Your Highness!" he panted. "Excuse my...rudeness, but...important...news from...the Royal Family..." He held out his hand, in which was clasped a violet-wrapped scroll. A Triforce was visible on it. A guard took it and brought it to King Zora, who opened it.

After perusing it, he gasped and raised his eyebrows before narrowing them and growling, "Oh, GREAT!" He whipped it back down and announced, "Princess Zelda's been KIDNAPPED!"

Link and Samba stood up and exclaimed, "WHAT?!" at the same time in shock.

King Zora groaned and put his face in his hands. "Zoraaaaaa...I can't believe it...This means that we've got to be on the alert and send some soldiers throughout the waterways of Hyrule to locate her..." He banged a fist on the arm of his throne. "DAMMIT! This is NOT helping my stress as of late!!" he yelled, head still in a hand.

Link and Samba looked at each other worriedly and suspiciously as they knelt again. "You think?" mouthed Samba. Link shrugged.

King Zora continued his small tantrum. "First I've got to deal with the paths connecting the levels of our city being blocked off, then that argument with the goron chief, Daigorno, and now THIS?!" he listed, looking up again and thrusting the hand that had held his head out to emphisize. He grumbled and shook his head again. "I think something bad IS starting to come," he moaned.

Link raised his eyebrows suddenly. "Your Highness, is there anything we can do to help?" he asked.

King Zora grumbled and looked at them. "NO! Just get out of he--" But he stopped, pointing at them and beginning to lean forwards in emphasis. He looked a bit comical, totally frozen as he thought of something for a few moments. Then, he sat back again, putting the hand he was going to point with back to his chin. "Wait, yes, there might be something that you can do," he said, a bit calmer.

"Yes?" Samba asked, raising an eyeridge as he peeked up at him.

King Zora put his fingertips together and his elbows on the arms of his chair, sinking down a little as he went on. "Daigorno and I had a bit of an altercation of words a week ago. I won't go into what transpired, but the end result is the fact I am utterly disgusted in him so much, I REFUSE to talk to him or communicate with his kind in any way. However, I know for a fact that it will take the help of the gorons' strength to remove the rubble blocking our level-connecting paths, as much as I hate to admit it. And, as our messenger boy here demonstrates--thank you, by the way; you may leave, now--it is not easy to get around on them without them being open. Sure, some are fairly steep, but they're better than nothing. We NEED them open, somehow, or at least some alternate way to travel between the levels of our home." He pointed at the swordsmen. "I need to send some warriors out to search for Zelda and you have no more business here. Therefore, you're perfect for this." He nodded and returned his hand to himself.

"I want you to go to Death Mountain, where the gorons live, and speak to their chief, Daigorno. See if he's still angry with me. If he is, then don't bother asking him to send some of his men here to help us. If not, then DO bother. You don't need to return to tell me he's still mad at me. Now, of course, when I say that, I mean if he still believes what he said the last time we spoke. Remember to tell him that specifically, or he probably will be too stupid to figure it out..." He grumbled and shook his head. "Sorry. I've been very stressed lately, as you heard. But please, go. Don't worry about Zelda--with my men on the lookout for her, you can be certain that anyone foolish enough to take her out to the water will sorely regret it!" He proudly smirked and crossed his arms, looking at his men. He made the "shoo" gesture with a hand. "Now, you may leave. Get going. Oh, and just dive from the waterfall to get down safely. Dive, don't just jump--the more you've got spread out when you hit the water, the more pain you'll feel," he warned. "I don't think Zelda would appreciate the weilder--S, this time--of the Master Sword to break their backs thanks to a bad jump into water. NOW go."

And that was that.

Link and Samba stood, bowed, and trotted out. Taking Samba in his ring as he went, Link jumped off the waterfall bravely and arced his body into a dive, doing what he remembered seeing some people (and zoras) do. A few seconds later, he splashed down into the water, going pretty deep. He then struggled to swim up again. A few more seconds later, he gasped for air at the surface and squeezed his eyes open, a zora in the water by him applauding the dive. "Well, that was fun," he wheezed, making the zora laugh as the green-clad warrior swam to shore. (He did thank the applauder, of course.)

"So, then, we're going to Death Mountain?" Samba asked afterwards while they jogged away, on the western side of the Hylia River this time (Link got directions from another zora).

Link nodded. "I don't know if there's anything related to this quest Zelda's sent us on," he said, "but there's really nothing else we can do. Remember, we agreed last night that we'd go and talk to her after getting the Master Sword to see where we should go."

This was true. While playing their instruments together, they had taken a break and discussed this for a brief moment. Samba looked into the distance a little, head turned in the direction he had an idea was the vague location of Death Mountain, helped by the tiny red-brown mountain on the horizon with a cloud ring around it. "Besides, we might find something out in Goron City," he added.

Link smiled. "You never know," he said. Another idea struck him. "Hey, Samba?"

"Yeah?" Samba turned to look at him.

Link jumped over a rock in his path. "You're FROM Death Mountain, right?" he asked.

"Yas."

"?"

"Lizalfos 'yes'."

"Ah. Anyway, d'you think you could, well, be a tour guide of sorts, if you catch my drift?" he asked.

Samba raised an eyeridge. "Death Mountain's not that difficult to figure out," he said before something stopped his sentence as soon as it ended and sprang his eyes wide open. 'WAIT! This is it! This is my chance!!'

Link tilted his head at the expression on Samba's face, own face registering worry for both boys. "Uuuuh...Samba?"

Samba shook his head before he nodded once, resolute look on his face. "I'll guide you," he said. "I know a shortcut there, actually. It's kind of rough, though..."

"I'll let you be the leader, then," Link said, shrugging. "You can jump and probably overall navigate the mountain better than I can."

Samba shrugged, too. "Yeah, but that's just the way we are," he said. "Thanks for letting me be leader for a bit there."

"Sure! Hey, I'm only the first one to be leader; we're supposed to share the sword, since we ARE working together, right?" Link reminded/checked.

Samba smiled a bit, suddenly feeling a little guilty for some reason. "Yeah," he said. He pulled ahead a bit and said, "C'mon, let's get going!" over his shoulder.

"Alright! Oh, hang on," Link said, and he made Samba the leader, AND hid in his ring. Samba raised his eyeridges at this as he looked at his paw. Link came out and pointed out, "You're faster on foot than I am; we'll get there faster this way."

Samba smiled widely and nodded. "Thank you very much," he said, and Link went inside the ring again. Samba grinned and poured on the speed, enjoying the stamina boost the rings gave him. His grin soon turned into a dutiful frown as he thought. 'Sorry, Link, I really am...' He glanced at the rings. '...but I've got to think for myself. I have to.' He looked ahead again, drawing the Master Sword and charging straight through a moblin, shouting, "EXCUSE ME!" as he went. He looked at Death Mountain again. 'Vardi...'


	9. Samba's Betrayal

Samba ran his way across Hyrule Field, getting to the foot of Death Mountain by midnight. He panted a little despite the rings' effect on his stamina. Before him was the path to the Gorons. A sign in front told him that he just had to go straight. 'But...Well, let's hope...' He began up the path, which was plagued by a few monsters and, for some reason, giant rocks rolling their way down from above. "What's with these boulders?" Link asked, coming out of his ring and providing light (though Samba's eyes didn't need it). "They always here?"

"Yeah, uh, no," Samba said a bit grumpilly, having just been glanced on the side by one. "As far as I know, this is the first time there's been any coming down..." He suddenly had an idea. 'Of course! Eureka!!' He climbed upwards and onwards until finally reaching a fork. He took a left.

"Huh? Didn't that sign say we're supposed to be going forwards?" Link asked at this.

"1: This is a shortcut I know, and 2: I don't feel like becoming Flat Samba," the lizalfos replied. 'At least ONE of those is true...let's hope that works...'

Link bobbed up and down. "I understand. You know this place better than I do, though; sorry for backseat wagon-driving."

"No big deal." Samba continued, going along a rough path up the mountain. There WAS a path, but it certainly wasn't made for humans; instead, strong gorons could climb the walls' big footholds and lizalfos could jump. He noticed a lot of places where, if something about the lizalfos's height was there, Link could likely get up, and the other places had enough protrusions and cracks that Link might be able to climb up. 'So it's not for humans, but that doesn't mean they can't come up,' Samba mused. He also encountered some enemies. Mostly, they were

"Red tekitites," Samba answered when Link asked what the red, spider-like, jumping THINGS were. He slashed one and killed it in one blow using the Master Sword. "They're mountain-dwellers who can't swim. Instead, they like to jump around and annoy the crud out of you. Vertical slashes are the way to go, usually." He whipped around and launched a reverse hook kick at one, crushing it in midair with the force of it. "Unless you've got legs like a lizalfos, that is," he smirked. He then jumped forward to meet one last one in the air and plunged the Master Sword into it, nothing around it when he landed with a CHINK!.

Samba, after a while of climbing, finally made it to the end of the path. A steepish, pretty much one-way path began at his left. He recognized it. On his right was a cavern, dark and echoing. "You sure this is a shortcut...?" Link asked a little tentatively.

"Yeah," Samba answered, turning to enter the cave. "I know what I'm doing." 'And my scales are dayglow orange...'

The cave was populated only by drips of water from stalactites, stalagmites that ranged from finger-sized to man-sized, and everyone's favorite enemies inside pitch-black and pit-heavy rooms in the Game Boy Color Zelda titles. 'If ever there were a contest for it," Samba grumbled, spin attacking some away, 'these might just win Most Annoying Monster...That, or they'd tie with like-likes...' (Note: Link's Awakening DX (my first GB Zelda and GB game in general when Mom gave me hers :D) is for GBC, so, technically, I'm correct up there, since DX IS essentially the same game as the original GB one, only it's in color and with an extra, not-too-friendly dungeon (tho it was pretty fun), so there's not much difference.)

As he continued further into the cave, though, Samba, thoughts of what lay ahead dancing about, tried to focus his attention on the path. Then, after reaching a long stretch of level land, he stopped running, slowly going to a jog, then to a walk. Before him, getting closer with each step, was a ravine with long, somewhat skinny pillars of rock forming stepping stones across.

Link noticed this and came out. "Samba?" he asked. 'I think he said something about an entrance into his home like this...Is he...?' "Samba? This REALLY a shortcut...?"

But Samba gave no answer. Only the clenching of his fists said he was still there as he walked onwards. With only a few grunts while hopping across the stepping stones, he got to the other side and went onwards. Turning right a bit, the tunnel began to slope down a bit. Sounds and glimpses of torches began to be detected. Link tried asking Samba again, but to no avail. Finally, he said shortly, "Where are you taking me?"

Samba simply cupped his paw around Link and slowly pressed him back to his ring. As he expected, Link was pushed back inside. He kept his paw over it for a moment before removing it again. Link got the hint and stayed inside. Samba glanced at it with a pang of guilt. 'Understand...' He looked forwards again as the path leveled out again and climbed up and around just slightly.

Torchlight met his eyes as a familiar sight did, as well. Two guards were posted at the entrance to the underground community. When they saw who it was, they gasped and took a step back.

"N...No way...!"

"Is...Is that...?"

Samba bowed his head as he passed on by. Silently, he padded along the path around the underground lake.

Link blinked in wonder at this. 'Wait. Did those guys just speak...Hylian...?'

Samba passed by a scant few others on the "street". Each one raised their eyeridges, or blinked, or put a paw over their mouth. Samba never saw the bugging-out of the eyes behind him after the sword he carried was seen.

Samba continued on, silent, before reaching a dock with two guards, one on either side. The dock ended in a short pathway of floating, anchored rafts. They led to a large platform in the middle of the water made of a long, very broad stretch of combined flat rocks and bridge. Across from that was the other side of the lake, where a lone, grand house stood--the chief's house. To his right was the poster that had told them about the day to leave. Now, it was torn to shreds by someone, for some reason. To his left were the guards and dock. To his front, in the distance, was the end of the path--his house. It was dark. The twilight before dawn was filling the sky, slowly changing to be brighter. 'This reminds me of only a few nights ago,' he thought. 'Let's hope that nothing disastrous comes, this time...'

One of the guards at the dock came over to him. "Excuse me, sir?" he asked curtly. "What business do you have here after dark?"

Samba held up his right paw. The Triforce shone in the torches' light. "Samba," was all he said.

The guard took a step back at this. "S-Samba? Wait...of course, there's only one blue lizalfos here..." He stood erect again and said, "Samba, the chief has been waiting to see you. Wait here, please, and we shall go and get him." They turned to run across the dock.

"Rhhrrrrrrr..." sighed someone sitting in his house at his desk by the window. He had his head in his left paw, turning the page of a book with his right. He heard voices outside. He raised his head a bit to look out the window. When he saw what was occurring outside his house, which was near the poster, he scrambled out of his chair abruptly, knocking it loudly to the cold stone floor. Jaw agape, he poked his head out of the window, adjusting his glasses with one paw while resting the other on the sill. "Samba...!" he breathed, a smile coming to his face slowly. Before another second had passed, Ko wrenched his door open and was hopping out, going down the path to the "street".

Samba stood, watching them, back turned to Ko. Link wondered if he should come out. Samba felt like he knew what Link was thinking, so he shook his head, glancing at the green ring. Link understood and, reluctantly, stayed put. 'What is he doing...?'

Ko finally got to him, panting. "Samba!!" he gasped. Samba didn't turn. Ko looked worriedly at him for this. "Samba? Did you hear me?" he asked.

"Woah! I'll be damned!" Ko turned his head to the left to see Thyu trotting over, a smile on his face. "What brings you here at this hour, Blue...Boy..." He slowed to a halt as he saw the sword at his side. His eyes widened and he took a step back. "Is...Is that...?!" he gasped.

Ko circled around to see, and when HE saw it, his jaw practically broke off and crashed to the floor. "By the godesses!! I-I-I don't hardly believe it!!" he stammered.

"Believe what, old man?" The ground shaking warned Ko and Thyu of Drejsk's arrival behind them before his voice did. They turned and found the overweight lizalfos jogging towards them. He stopped when he got an answer.

"First, I'm not old," Ko replied, "and second, take a look at Samba's sword..."

Drejsk leaned his head between the two to look. He was puzzled for a moment before his pupils shrank into paper-thin slits. "Sholy hit," he whispered.

Before the other two could correct him, Drejsk "reh?"ed and looked down. Holding onto his leg and using it to hide, Rakeh peeked out to look at Samba. She looked worried, but said nothing. She gasped, too, when she realized what Samba wore on his belt, and she put a paw to her jaw.

Samba ignored the small crowd forming a bit behind and to the left of him. Instead, he watched forward, thinking furiously about what he was going to do. 'I can't believe this is actually happening...' Finally, after what felt like an age, the guards came back. "Samba, the chief is waiting for you," said one as they passed by. They then continued on to the path and turned around. Some more guards were coming, as well. A few onlookers began to gather around, but were stopped by a wall of guards.

Link, from his "camera's perspective", saw this and was a little perturbed, but Samba only looked forwards. Onto the platform stepped the chief, in full dress--plus mondo sword--from his boat. On the other end was a burly guard who was pushing forth...'Vardi!!' She was gagged and bound; only her eyes and legs could move. The chief was also accompanied by a pair of guards. Samba lowered his head for a moment before raising it again and hopping across the rafts. There were three of them and, after he reached the stone end, they floated away, for some reason. He noticed this, merely glancing behind him and down.

"Samba." He turned his attention back to the front and saw his chief standing a few feet in front of him, giving him a smugly triumphant smile. The dawn light slowly fell upon the lake, bathing everything in a slow, gentle crescendo of color. "Come here."

Samba slowly stepped forwards. He halted a bit before the chief and, after a slight moment of hesitation, kneeled down. Vardi looked over at him with wide, wild eyes.

The chief held his paw up. "Rise." Samba obeyed, and he lowered it again. "Now, then...you have completed your mission, I see. The rumors of your death have been greatly exaggerated." He smirked at this.

Samba fought any facial expression at the classic joke.

The chief stopped smirking and looked at Samba's left hip. His eyes widened a little bit. "And I see, for certain, now, that you have completed it in a fashion I would never have dreamed. Well done." He then held a paw out in the direction of Vardi. "While I cannot have the sword itself, I can have the rings. That way..." He narrowed his eyes, which appeared to gleam in the morning light. "...nobody can hold it ever again. If you give them to me, I shall release your sibiling. However..." He pointed the paw he had up to his neck. "Should you refuse..." He made the "dead" gesture, thumbclaw ever so slightly going across his own neck. As it went, Samba could almost hear the sound of nails against a chalkboard. (Of course, it was but in his imagination.) "You understand?" he asked. He held his paw out to Samba. "Give me them. Give me the Rings of Dualty, Samba!!" he ordered, a hint of anxiety in his voice.

Samba looked at the eyes above him. 'Those eyes...My chief...' He slowly raised his right paw and placed his claws around the first ring.

"Samba! DON'T!!" cried Ko, panicked and shocked look on his face. "You know what'll happen!! Don't--UUNGH!" He grunted as he was shoved back by a guard. Him and the others there looked around them in alarm as the guards raised their weapons to them.

Samba glanced back only at the sound of Ko getting hurt. He saw the guards around the people, including his friend and comrades from nights before, and raised his eyeridges. 'Ko! Everyone!!' He blinked for a second before darting his eyes around, looking for anything he could do. He turned his head back forwards, instantly trying to look calm. He bowed his head again, but looked left and right while he went. He saw the chief in front of him, the guards around HIM, now, and Vardi, who was looking at him with crying eyes, shaking her head at him and making muffled, pitiful sounds like thoses of a wounded dog. The guard holding her had a helmet on, but there was still the spot directly between his eyes. Samba looked at himself and his paw. He clasped the first ring still. He wore the Master Sword and, nearby it, his pebble pouch. "There's...only one thing I can do..." he whispered. "...I'm sorry..."

"Samba! Hesitate any longer, and I might change my mind!!" threatened the chief.

Samba closed his eyes for a moment before finally raising his head again, slowly removing the ring he'd been holding. He slowly held it up, still clenched between his thumb- and foreclaw, ready to give it to the chief.

Inside his ring, Link was panicking. 'Samba!! What the hell are you DOING?!'

"Samba! SAMBA!!" cried Ko, who got shoved again.

Samba paused for just a moment, when the chief made a beckoning motion with his paw. In a weak-sounding, somewhat croaky voice, the blue lizalfos quietly said, "Orders are orders." He slowly held his paw out to the chief, closer, closer...

Link held his breath.

The ring he was in was an inch above the chief's palm.

Then, Samba stopped, looked at his chief right in the eye, and clenched his other fist. With a determined cry, the dawn light flashing in his eyes, he spun around and threw the ring with all his heart across the water. It soared outwards, going as fast as if he had thrown a pebble. And, although it went farther and farther from Samba, Link never appeared. Finally, though, when it came right to shore, he began to appear. By then, Link had caught on to his partner's idea. When he was fully out, he was right in the middle of the guards with sword and shield out. He stood and did a quick, single spin attack to push the armored guards away. He ended his spin and got into stance in front of the other lizalfos. He looked at Samba from behind his shield with his eyes.

Ko gaped at this. "The...The stories were true...!" he mumbled. (Link, to his surprise, could still understand them. He suspected the rings were at work.)

Samba returned Link's gaze for a moment. "And I always follow them," he whispered before he heard a roar behind him and turned. The chief was seething mad, shaking a bit. "You--!!" he growled before he thrust his paw to the guard with Vardi. "Throw her into the lake!! Let her drown!!" he ordered.

Samba was one step ahead of him, however. He grabbed a pebble and threw it right between the eyes of the lizalfos. The guard shouted at the sharp pain and reeled back, putting his armored paws to his face. In an instant, Samba was at Vardi. With his claws, he slashed away the bindings on her paws, tail, and jaw. "Brother!!" she cried afterwards, turning and hugging him with all her might.

Samba shook his head and picked her up. He ran over to the other side of the platform.

"Oh, no, you don't!!" roared the chief, drawing his huge blade. He swung it horizontally towards them.

Samba jumped it easilly, even with Vardi. He landed and knew he had to get rid of her for the moment. He looked across the water and shouted, "LINK!! PROTECT VARDI!!" before, to her surprised horror, he hucked her as far as he could. She landed in the water with a loud SPLASH and came up again, coughing.

"WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?!" she cried after getting a good breath, shaking her fist at Samba and glaring at him. Samba, however, was too busy dodging another gigantic sword swing to notice. Seeing this, Vardi stopped and blinked. "...Oh, my...He did that to protect me..." She looked behind her at the hylian keeping the guards at bay. "He ordered anyone that would dare oppose him to be imprisoned...That's why those guys are doing that..." She nodded, turned, and swam to shore. She was able to get up on shore before being swarmed by guards. "Eeep! And that includes me!!" she squeaked.

THWHUP-THWHUP-_CLANG!_-_CLANG!_-_CLANG!_ The boomerang whacked the three guards' heads and stunned them with the gong-like sound their helmets resonated. Vardi looked up at Link, who made a beckoning motion before catching his boomerang, and ran towards him. She passed him and ducked down to join Rakeh.

Link smiled at her before looking back over at Samba. He nodded.

Samba gave a relieved smile over his shoulder at the fact his sister was safe before raising his buckler and blocking a vertical swing. This wasn't that smart, since, while he was fine, his arm and entire body hurt from the shock of the largest sword he'd ever seen. He grunted and turned back to look at the chief.

The chief's eyes were becoming more and more bloodshot by the second, rage seeping from his being. "SAMBA!! You'll NEVER get away with this TREASON!!" he roared. "GIVE ME THE SWORD OR I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!"

Samba growled and threw the blade off of him, drawing the one the chief was talking about. It shone in the light and rang almost musically as it came out. "Sorry to say, but I guess I have to," he replied. The other guards gathered around him. Samba looked to either side of him. Then, without looking, he thrust the Master Sword forwards to the one in front of him, the big one. As he had hoped, the guard, scared of the blade, jumped aside. As soon as he had done this, Samba raised the blade up and quickly rested the flat of it between the eyes of the poor guy. Instantly, he roared in agony and stumbled back as a hissing emitted beneath the blade.

This worked. The other two guards looked at him and ran off, the third joining them soon thereafter, and jumped into the boat to leave. The chief roared and held a paw out to them. "COME BACK, YOU COWARDS!!" But they were gone. The dinolfos and the lizalfos were alone on the platform. Turning back around, the chief rested his blade on his shoulder, between his neck and the sole spiked shoulder pad he wore, and shot a glare at Samba. "So. You turn upon your own chief...upon your own kind..." He glanced at the Master Sword. "However, I must say one thing about you: Though your fighting skill is phenomenal, you shall never be able to best me. Therefore, once you die upon this platform, the Master Sword shall be untouchable by anyone--your 'friend' over there can't last forever," he gestured to Link, who was surrounded and trying his best to defend the innocent lizalfos behind him. "And if he doesn't die now, I'll just kill him after I'm done with you," the chief continued, looking back at Samba. He lowered his sword again, pointing it in front of him. Eight feet away, Samba's eyes crossed as the tip of the blade stopped an inch in front of his muzzle. "Now, then, as some hylians say," the chief said. He narrowed his eyeridges, reeled back his swordarm, and roared, "_EN GARDE!!_" before thrusting it forth again.

Samba jumped aside and the battle truly began. 'I'm going to have to contend with that absurdly large sword of his,' he thought. 'And then...can I really damage him...? He IS my chief, after all...' He looked worriedly at him. He then recalled something. 'Wait! Metal makes you heavier! That's why the guards didn't just swim away...The chief's got some armor on, and that sword of his...' He ducked a horizontal swing and narrowed his eyes. 'Time to take a bath, chief.' He ran forth to try and get to him, but he had to run or jump whenever the sword came at him.

The chief roared at him with each swing and wasn't slow, exactly. Samba had to react quite quickly if he didn't want to get cleaved in two, which he rather would not. He finally got up close and knew what he had to do: With a yell, he gave a jump kick to his chief, right under the jaw. The dinolfos grunted in pain as he was thrust upwards. Samba then proceeded to land a series of midair kicks at him on the way down before landing a two-legged double kick that left him prone on the ground and his target fifteen feet away and counting.

The chief was nearly at the edge before he dug his feet and claws into the stone and wood, actually making marks in both. He growled and slashed over at Samba. Samba was still getting up and was, therefore, only able to dodge away with his left leg getting sliced open. "RRAAAAUUGH!!" he roared in sheer agony, slamming to the floor and writhing as he grabbed his wounded leg. A gash the length of Tales of Symphonia went from his thigh to halfway down his calf. It was bleeding pretty badly, too. He knew he couldn't take another hit like that, or else he'd be in too much pain to move, which he already almost was. I say "almost" because he was able to move in time to escape the giant blade slamming down towards him again. He got up on his feet and winced in pain as his leg screamed at him. 'Gotta make this finish, fast!!' he thought. He saw the blade and its size, and an idea popped up. 'Does it actually work...?'

He tried running at his enemy again, this time deciding to toss a pebble at him first. The plan failed, though, since the dinolfos's tough hide made it bounce away without slowing him down. He swung at him horizontally with the enormous sword, and Samba jumped just a smidgen later than he normally would have, thinking, 'I'm crazy, I'm crazy, I'm crazy...'

The chief grunted as he swung, glaring at Samba. Then, when the sword blurred past his field of vision, it appeared to take Samba with it. He stopped and blinked a moment. "Huh?" he went almost comically, holding his sword steady behind him.

Samba was crouching on top of the blade, amazed that it actually worked. 'I thought it was only in stories...' He looked and noticed there was actually a red spot on the back of the chief's head. It slowly pulsed. 'What the...?! Wait...I wonder...' He rapidly took aim and fired a Fire Pebble at it. It hit its mark and prompted the chief to squack and freeze. Samba tore down the blade, trailing blood from his leg, and jumped down to in front of him. He landed in a crouch, paws on the ground, and was in the perfect position to give the chief a good mule kick. The dinolfos went flying, roaring, into the water, sword and all. A gigantic splash was heard as the blade hit the water.

Samba turned to his leg at this point. 'I have to heal it...!' He rummaged in his bag, looking for SOMEthing that could help him. It was then that he noticed, growing from the rock of the platform, a small stalk of lizafloren. It looked like green-and-blue-petaled lavender. "YAS!" He scrambled towards it, uprooted it, and rubbed it against his leg. Within moments, not only was his left paw all bloody, but his gash no longer hurt. As he stood still, the raw lizafloren's powerful healing properties took further effect and encouraged the wound to stop bleeding, which it did after a few more seconds. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, I was getting light-headed..."

Splashing alerted him to look to the front again as a paw reached up on the edge of the platform. "YOU..." a deep growl said. Slowly, the chief, soaking wet, pulled his head up and gave a glare at Samba. "YOU!!!" His eyes were full-on glowing red. He was shaking extremely badly, as if suffering an amazing chill.

Everyone on shore stopped to look at this. The guards gulped at the sight of their boss and ruler in this way. Link bit his lip. 'Samba...'

Samba, feeling his health returning with the lizafloren faster than it really should have (he, too, theorized, later, that the rings had something to do with this), took a step back, clenching his bloody paw and redrawing the Master Sword (he had put it back after throwing a pebble before, when he was running at the chief). He gritted his teeth uneasilly, looking at the chief.

The chief was frothing at the mouth as if he had rabies. "I AM ABOUT _FINISHED_ WITH YOU!!" he roared. _"WHEN I AM, COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY IF THERE'S ENOUGH OF YOU LEFT TO OCCUPY EVEN A CUBIC FOOT!!"_ While he said this, he started to glow red, brighter and brighter. Now, an aura of dreadful red was seeping from him, as if he were a living tesla coil radiating crimson power. He clenched his paw on the platform edge as he began to, to Samba's dismay, deform.

The hunk of rock he was gripping broke off as the paw grabbing it grew bigger. The clothing on the chief ripped and tore away, but his loincloth changed to become more ornately-decorated. His cape fell away, though, and his shoulder pad fell into the water. His eyes were nothing BUT red, now, and his muscles--though already reasonably large--grew gigantic. As they did, Samba could see why: The scaly hide covering his body tore in a few places as he grew, revealing a crystaline, red substance beneath, including under his upper arm muscles. The chief grew up and up, roaring louder and louder and deeper and deeper as he did.

Finally, he stopped, towering at at least thirty feet tall above Samba. Spikes and horns had grown everywhere over his body like a daikaiju (see Godzilla), and there was strange, pulsing, red crystal showing in spots on his left thigh, right breast, right bicep, the back of his left paw, on his forehead, and, though he couldn't see them, on his right footpaw, his back, and, still, on the back of his head. The tip of his tail had become nothing but a wicked hook of that same crystal. In a voice so deep and animalistic that couldn't possibly belong to anything but a demon, he finally roared, _**"DIE!!"**_ Spit flecked everywhere.

Samba was blown back and temporarily half-deafened by the force of the voice, and some of the stone around him cracked. 'Well, this can't be good,' he thought casually as a glob of saliva splashed against his shield. He yelped and hauled blue tail away from an incoming spike-knuckled fist that pulverized the wood beneath it. The fact it was spiked worked against it, sticking it into the rock for a moment. Samba saw this and knew that he had to take a chance. He jumped on top of it and ran along the length of the arm, which was at a steep slope. This was the right arm, the one with the section of crystal on the bicep. 'That crystal's the weakpoint--It's like the kind Link described from that big pig and it made him scream pretty loudly when I hit it with a Fire Pebble...'

With a (quieter) roar, Daikaichief raised his left paw and made to slap him like a mosquito. Samba gave a quick burst of speed as fast as he could go, which could have taken him to the foot of Death Mountain three hours sooner if it weren't for the fact that it pushed his legs so hard, the rings couldn't keep up. (These short dashes are essentially the same as Epona's dashes.) He managed to evade the paw and made it up to the bicep. While he got there, Daikaichief freed his arm and lifted it up and away from the ground. He tried to slap Samba again, but his increased bulk, while it made him able to tear the entire village apart in less than a day, slowed his movement down by a considerable amount. This gave Samba the opportunity to get to his bicep.

After getting there, he reached the spot and grabbed onto a nearby spike (told you they were everywhere) with his tail and left arm. With the Master Sword, he began hacking away at the small hill of crystal-covered muscle. As he slashed, Daikaichief yowled in pain. The crystal, being assaulted by the Master Sword itself, became more and more cracked with each slash. After about five hits, Samba knew that now was the time. He twirled the sword around his paw, stopped it pointing straight to the crystal, grabbed it with both paws, and plunged it right into the crystal. It shattered with the sound of an grand pane of glass breaking into pieces. (Oooooh, imagine the fun of recording THAT sound effect!! Well, not if it's a mirror breaking, but still! (DAMN, I'm a savage...))

After the cavern-shaking howl of agony, Samba removed the Master Sword and hopped down, rolling to evade injury. He turned around and saw Daikaichief glaring at him. He tried swiping at him and missed thanks to a roll by his prey. Angry, he stomped through the deep water (which came up to his kneecaps) around the platform. He got to one of the long ends and grabbed both sides of it. With a maniacal, beastly cackle, he thrust himself forwards at Samba. Samba yelled and looked around to see what he could do. He was near an edge, so he ran and jumped off the platform into the water. This got him just low enough that the behemoth soared a foot above his head. He got back onto the platform after his chief landed and skidded, breaking just about all of the other wooden sections.

Samba got back on and found that he had to get up slowly, so he ran to the closest part he could find that was crystaline. Jumping onto the left arm, he ran, then slid his way to the back of Daikaichief's left paw (slid seeing as he was getting up again and had lifted the arm Samba was on). He stopped at the paw and quickly caught himself around another horn. After another slashfest, he plunged the Master Sword with both paws (which was saying something since, by this time, Daikaichief had inverted Samba, who was hanging on with his big feet and powerful tail for his life). He dropped down again and noticed that, as he looked up again, the crystal on the back of Daikaichief's paw seemed dull and flaky with cracks. 'It's broken,' he thought.

Daikaichief wasn't very happy. He roared and launched a kick at Samba, who was too busy looking up to see it coming. He got hit as if by a freight train, being carried with one of the only footpaws in the entire village bigger than his own all the way until he was flying up vertically. He fell down, down, down into the lake again, splashing down spectacularly. He gasped for air after coming to the surface again, scrabbling for a moment before shaking his head, sheathing his sword, and swimming as fast as he could back to the platform. He was still unable to swim for long, however, and he was halfway beneath the water before reaching the platform weakly. He grunted and pulled himself up again, feeling a broken rib in his chest. 'Need...hearts...now...Need...hearts...now...'

Link grimaced in worry as he remembered what Aradia had told them a few nights ago. 'If he dies...'

Samba saw Daikaichief coming at him with another kick and, painedly, jumped aside. He then saw him bring the footpaw back again, this time coming down again hard. Before he was stomped into a pancake, Samba leaped aside once more, yelping in pain at the shockwave. The shock of the stomp must have upset Daikaichief, who grunted and winced for a moment, standing still. Samba saw that the footpaw he'd just slammed down was the right one. So, he dashed and jumped onto it and, facing the bridge of the foot, began slashing away in a four-slash combo attack that ended in a spin attack, counting up five hits. With a roar, Samba then jumped and jammed his sword into the steep slope of the foot, tearing down it and breaking the crystal. Afterwards, he jumped off and backed away on the platform, nearly falling into a portion originally covered by wooden bridge.

Daikaichief jumped back into the water, causing a huge splash that got everyone, including the people on shore. He looked over his shoulder and tried to whip at Samba with his tail. Samba had planned something from the beginning for this, though. He jumped as high as he could over the tail when it came at him and kept running off towards the edge of the platform. After jumping twice, he found he was in the right spot. So, he waited and readied a spin attack. The tip of the tail came towards him once more, and he bravely slashed at it with the spin attack as soon as it reached him. It worked, stunning Daikaichief long enough to let Samba slash it three more times and finish it.

During this time, Samba noticed that Daikaichief's stomping all over the rock sections of the platform had created some of the small boulders that frequently held items that he'd encountered in the Empty Cavern. While he waited for Daikaichief to get up again, he grabbed one nearby and destroyed it. Indeed, to his delight, THREE hearts flew out. "Thank the godesses!!" he cried, dashing to let them absorb into him. His wounds, including his leg and rib, totally healed from the power of them. He skidded, but he couldn't stop himself from sliding down beneath the huge sweeping kick his adversary gave him. He heard the WHOOSH! of air just as he surfaced from the water and knew he had lucked out. As he climbed up again, he saw that Daikaichief obviously still couldn't control his new body quite yet. He had crouched down, on one knee and arms in the water, as he launched the kick with his left leg. He had brought it back to rest in the center of the platform while he reoriented his self. He grumbled as he did so. 'I think he's regretting making himself into what he wants to make Rargon into,' Samba mused, taking his chance.

After Samba attacked the crystal-covered portion of the left thigh and destroyed it, Daikaichief drew himself erect once more and Samba wondered how he could get to the other parts of him. This time, for an attack, Daikaichief decided to do something old, punching. He missed, and Samba, now getting an idea, climbed up again and ran until he was in range. He quickly got out a Fire Pebble and shot him in the forehead. As he had hoped, this caused him to make a strangled cry and fall sideways onto the platform, landing on his right side. Samba had jumped off before he went down with the ship and now decided to attack the place on the right breast. He destroyed it and backed away, twirling his sword. "And there goes all the easy stuff," he muttered.

Thankfully, it appeared that Daikaichief had run out of ideas for attacks. After he did the swipes, the sweep kick (which was so obviously telegraphed from the one-and-a-half-second windup--getting down and then drawing back--Samba laughed and waited until the last moment before ducking down again), and then the body slam, which Samba dodged by ducking into another hole in the platform, this time, Samba got up onto his back to attack his back's section. He was only halfway done when he was almost thrown off by the rising body. He grabbed a huge back spike and held on until he was able to stand on its smooth, rounded surface. He then finished the section and found himself in a new situation.

The way Daikaichief's back was laid out with spikes was interesting. There were classic spinal spikes, which were biggest, and between each of them, on the sides, was a smaller spike. As he was now, Samba couldn't get up higher from the spike below to the one above directly, and he was too high to jump down safely. Fortunately, though, he had an idea and was glad it worked: He jumped from the large spike to a smaller one a bit higher up, then back to a large one. He did this and made his way upwards, pressing up against the back when the tail, also spiked, tried to slam him. The back's spikes were longer than the tail's, so, even though they fit together, there was space for Samba to stay safe if he went right up against the wall of a back. After climbing up the spikes, he got to the back of the head. Here, he shot it with a Fire Pebble and hung on while he went down. The fall was amazingly thrilling. He hung onto the topknot (spike directly on top of the head) and whailed away on the back of his head. When that finally shattered, he held on once more while he was lifted again.

At this time, Daikaichief couldn't do much except slap himself on the head, which he couldn't do on top for fear of skewering himself. So, Samba played a cruel joke on him: He waited in front of his forehead before jumping up and away from the paw. His idea worked, conserving his magic power by having (the obviously dumbed-down) Daikaichief daze himself. So, finally, he destroyed the crystal on the forehead.

At this, Daikaichief let out a phenomenal roar, whipping his head around (and throwing Samba off and into the water). After some of this thrashing and roaring, he fell down, front-first, onto the platform. His tongue lolled out tiredly while what appeared to be a cartoonish lump grew from his head. Samba realized this was the kind of crystal that possessed Big Bessie. After getting back onto the platform and his back, Samba screamed towards it. He leaped high as he approached, letting out a finalistic roar as he did the down stab attack towards the crystal. As he reached it, the blade of the Master Sword stuck into it like it was mud. Everyone stood still for a moment before a flash came from the crystal. Then, with an amazing crash, the gem shattered and exploded like an enemy at the same time.

And, finally, it was finished. Daikaichief rose up a bit, roaring like a dying beast, before he turned and backed up a bit, rolled onto his back and let his head fall limply to the platform. Samba got off of him right when he had destroyed the crystal, panting very hard with his paws on his knees. "That...was...the...hardest...fight...I...have...ever...done," he wheezed. 'But, of course, it's the chief.' He looked at the enormous form before him and found, to his relief, the chest the size of a house heaving up and down slowly. "Chief..." He went over to the giant head and found his monstrous features fading away--the crystal, the oversized muscles, and the excess spikes. Soon, he looked like nothing more than a thirty-foot chief.

The crowd didn't roar. They didn't applaud. They were all tense. They were all mixed. The guards all stared, jaws agape. Link was holding his chest, heart thumping from the fear that he might have died--both of them. Finally, Ko looked around and said, "I don't know about you, but I'm not going to stand here with my mouth open to catch flies all morning." He jogged off down the dock. The rafts had returned to their places, probably having been under control by the chief in some way. Link followed, then Thyu, Drejsk, Vardi, and Rakeh.

Samba panted and looked up as they came to him. He gave a weak wave before returning to panting. He had slowed his breathing to a more calm pace by the time his Hylian teacher reached him. "I'm sorry, everyone," he said to them. "It...I think it had to be done..." He looked to the chief.

"He's not dead, you know," Ko said, pointing to his chest.

"I know," Samba nodded. "But...when will he wake up? When will he shrink down again?"

Ko shrugged, shaking his head. From behind him ran Vardi. "BIG BROTHERRRR!" she cried.

Samba smiled and, Master Sword in his right paw still, hugged his sister with his left arm. "Vardi...Oh, thank heavens, you're alright..." A few tears pricked from his eyes. "I feel like I've been going all over hell and creation to make sure you're safe..." He then realized something and drew back to look at her. "Is Mom home?" he asked tensely.

Vardi laughed a bit, wiping a tear away. "Not yet," she said. "Not yet."

"Correction!!"

Everyone turned and Samba froze as he saw his mother come across the dock. She made her way to them slowly, going around everyone. She stopped at Samba and Vardi, paws on her hips. Her backpack seemed much lighter than it had when she left. She tapped her tail on the ground while giving them an eyebrow raise. "Weeeeeeell?" she asked.

Vardi blinked a moment before pointing at Samba and shouting, "HE DID IT!!"

Samba squeaked and shook his head up at their mother.

Samba's mother's scowl slowly turned into a smile, then a laugh. "That he did," she said, crouching down and putting a paw on his shoulder. She looked proudly into his eyes. "That he did."

Samba looked a bit confused, tilting his head. "Reh?"

His mother chuckled a bit. "You won. And you kept an eye on Vardi...even if it was from afar," she explained. "Thank you."

Samba gasped and smiled, then breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Rrr-OOOOOHH!"

Samba's mother smiled and rose up. She looked to the end of the platform as another woman, this one decorated with bright feathers on her dress's collar and on her head around a headband, came onto it. She was looking with wide eyes of terror and a paw to her mouth. "Don't worry, Ibarn," called Samba's mother. "He's alive." A loud, low groan was heard, making everyone jump a bit. Samba was immediately up and in battle stance once more, and Link ran up beside him and did the same. Samba's mother held a paw out to this. "See?"

Ibarn slowly walked over. "Kargaro..." she whispered.

He groaned again, squeezing his face and turning it forwards. Finally, he opened his eyes. They weren't red. They weren't glowing.

They were the most beautiful shade of blue Link had ever seen in his life. They were as clear and blue as the tropical seas.

"Uuuunnh..." he groaned. "What...happened...?" he asked weakly. His voice was no longer that of a demon's, but was still so deep and loud that it reverberated through everyone around him. It was also very rich and pleasent to hear. He looked to his side with his eyes and gasped at the sight of the others. "How--?! UNGH!!" He suddenly clenched his eyes shut again. "Pain!! My head! My body!! How--" And, just as suddenly, they shot open again, a slow gasp of horror entering his lungs. His pupils thinned down to paper-thin slits as his jaw hung open.

After a half a minute, he finally blinked. His eyes were twitching around a bit. "I...remember..." he whispered. Tears began to form at the corners of his eyes. He shut them and clenched a fist.

Bravely, slowly, Ibarn took a few more steps to him. "Ka...Kargaro...?" she asked in a quiet voice, putting a paw on him.

The beast opened his eye to look at her. It was blurry with tears. It widened a moment before relaxing, a warm, comforting smile stretching across the dinolfos's lips. "Ibarn..." he whispered.

Ibarn sniffed, tears coming down more. "Kargaro!!" she cried before running and hugging him. "Kargaro!! Kargaro!!" She sobbed and sobbed into his scales. "I never...-sniff-...I never thought I'd really see you again!! Kargaro, oh, my Kargaro!!"

Tears poured out like waterfalls from Kargaro's eyes. He gently, slowly, put a paw over her. "Don't cry, my love," he said even gentler. The way he spoke now was so different from before, Link thought this was someone entirely different. "I'm back. I'm back. And I'm so very sorry. Very sorry."

Ko took a step over. "Chief...Chief Kargaro? Is that...Is that REALLY you?" he asked tentatively.

Kargaro blinked away his tears and looked over to the others. He slowly nodded, smiling broader. "Yes, Ko, without a doubt," he replied. He chuckled a bit. "I thought that you could see that better than anyone!"

Ko smiled a bit, tears starting in his eyes, too. In fact, most of the lizalfos there were starting to cry. 'Is this turning into one big water show?' Link thought. "Yes, my chief, but I had to double-check, is all," Ko alibied.

Kargaro nodded. "Ibarn..." he said softly. Ibarn sniffed, looked up at him, nodded, and drew away. With a loud, pained groan, Kargaro tried to heave himself up. He let his head back down with a slam, hurting everyone a little with a shockwave. "Too...Too painful..." he grunted.

The rumble and crashing of giant footsteps wading through water came to them, and Rakeh looked to the side. She gasped and clapped her paws together. "DADDY!!" she cried.

Rargon, with a tired look on his face and looking a bit larger than before, smiled as he made his way to the platform. He got up on the other side of Kargaro and offered his paw. Kargaro looked and widened his eyes. "Rargon...?"

"My chief, would you desire any assistance?" Rargon asked, smiling broadly. He held a bag in the other paw.

With his help and bag of lizaflorenized blue potion, Kargaro was able to get up into a sitting position similar to that of the Indians. He sat on one end of the broken platform while the others stood on the other. Samba STILL had the Master Sword out. Kargaro breathed in, held it, and breathed out. "My people...I am so very sorry," he said. "I recall all of the terrible, cruel things I have done to you. For that, I am deeply ashamed and horrifed at myself." He bowed down, paws on either side of the crowd that had grown in that time to include other villagers, too. "Please, my people...accept my deepest, most sincere apologies. My only alibi is that pure hatred flowed throughout my veins instead of blood. It addled my thinking and heart so much, I neglected to do what was right for my people. Instead, I have abused my privilages as chief of Jgk'hry to achieve my own ends, ends which were, I am going to admit here and now, awful, evil fantasies I have had for a long time. Hatred has been clouding my mind for too long. But now...it is clear." He opened his eyes. When he had bowed down, his head was right in front of Samba. "And for that, I thank you, Samba," he said.

Samba started. "Reh?"

Kargaro nodded slightly. "Yes. You were the one who had the courage to do what you knew might have ended in drastic failure...the one who destroyed the pure hatred plauging my form." He paused for a second, seemingly thinking, before nodding, jaw dipping down to the water in the hole below him. "If that is not enough, then here..." He closed his eyes as he began to glow red once more...but this was a soft red, a red that was tinged pink. Above his head, from a ball of gathered light, what should appear but a gem. "A gem most precious to those who weild that Blade of Evil's Bane..."

SHEEN!! The red flashed out of existence as a giant heart did. It floated down slowly to the ground. As it did, Samba smirked. Then, he finally did his flourishing sheath, the Master Sword returning to its sheath with a pleasant ringing sound, its work done here. He then walked over to the Heart Container, Link following. They looked at each other, smiling, and nodded. Together, they lifted it up high in victory, Samba to the left of Link and each using their dominant hand, before letting it absorb. This time, it broke apart and went into both of them equally. When this was finished, Kargaro chuckled a bit. "Interesting," he muttered before clearing his throat. Samba took this cue to step back, Link following suit.

Closing his eyes again, Kargaro continued. "Now...Village of Jgk'hry, village of the lizalfos...do you forgive me for what I've done? Can you? I understand if you cannot...and will humbly step down from my position and offer it to the one you choose to take my place."

At this, everyone gasped. "Are you sure, Kargaro?" Ibarn asked.

"Yes, Ibarn. I promise. I also promise to, should you forgive me and allow me to try being a better chief, try my best to make up for everything I have done to you in any way I can," he added. "So...do you forgive me, people of Jgk'hry?"

There was silent for a moment. Then, Ko stepped forward and said, "I forgive you, my chief."

"I'm with the coo--er, Ko," Thyu added, getting a look from Ko.

"I yorgive fou--FORGIVE YOU!!--as well," Drejsk stumbled out. (Link raised an eyebrow at this.)

"I'm just happy you're back," Ibarn sniffed.

"No hard feelings; I deserved a bit of a lesson, anyway," Rargon shrugged.

"If Daddy says it's okay, then I do, too," Rakeh said, smiling.

Vardi put her arms behind her back. "Even though you took me hostage and threatened to kill me and my brother," she said in a small voice, "I...I understand that you weren't yourself. So, really..." She smiled. "Being cranky at someone who was just being really cranky doesn't help things at all for anyone."

The other lizalfos said things as well, things that amounted to the fact that, yes, they forgive him. Finally, it was Samba's turn. Samba looked at his chief. He looked at him hard. "Chief, you have done a lot of things to me. You put me through hell. You nearly got me killed--and more than once. You tested my skills, my beliefs, and my desires. But you've tested my heart the most of all. Tested to see if it would cry out loud enough for me to hear it. And..." He looked to the Master Sword, then at Link beside him. He smiled. "...I don't forgive you--I thank you. Without all that, I would never have discovered the fate I was destined for...nor would I have discovered a new friend--who I hope forgives ME for taking us on this little detour," he added, sweatdropping.

Link smiled and nodded, making Samba raise his eyeridges. "Don't ask why, but I understand you guys' language," he said, shrugging.

Samba nodded and smiled. He turned back to Kargaro and bowed his head. "But, really, I do forgive you. And, apparantly, so does the rest of Jgk'hry."

"...Really?" Kargaro opened an eye to look at everyone. They all nodded back at him. He knit his brow in that "Awwww!" way. "You..." He smiled and closed his eyes, which had begun to water up again. "I cannot properly express my gratitude to you all in any way I know."

"Can you go back to normal size, at least?" Ibarn asked. "I know you can. This IS your secret ability, after all."

Kargaro nodded. "Yes, that can be arranged," he said, then chuckled. "I suppose I have breathed my foul breath on all of you long enough." He then was still for a moment, focusing very hard. Blue energy surrounded him as he slowly shrank down again. His loincloth returned to normal size with him, as well as to its former design. When he was finished, he opened his eyes and stood up--almost falling again if his mate hadn't caught him. He gave a weak chuckle as he looked at Samba. "Samba, I think you might have gone a little too hard on me," he joked.

Samba furrowed his brow worriedly. "I'm sorry, my chief! In all honesty, I was trying my hardest to kick your tail, and I might have gone too far!!" he confessed.

The chief laughed, but groaned in pain afterwards. "Ugh...It's not your fault," he said. "Urgh...Say...could someone take me...to the medical cavern...please...?" he asked. "Oooof..."

"I would feel honored to help you, my chief!" said Rargon, offering a paw again.

Kargaro smiled at him. "Thank you, Rargon," he said, taking the paw that could now squeeze around his body with only half of it showing. He smiled sadly at the increased size. "I'm especially sorry for subjecting you to that," he told him.

Rargon grinned. "Naw, that's fine," he said. "Sure, it wasn't fun being forcefed potion like that, but, ah..." He crept his head down and whispered, "...quite frankly, I kinda like being able to lift two gorons at once, if you know what I mean." The five people around him who could hear sniggered at this. Samba sighed and shook his head, looking up.

As Rargon held a lying-down chief in his paws and began to rise again, Kargaro poked his head up. "Wait...hylian," he called, using Link's language.

Link raised his eyebrows and stepped forth. "Hm?"

"Please come to me later. I wish to speak with you and Samba. And I thank you for your valor in defending my citizens from my foolishness," he added. He then told Rargon, in his native tongue, that they may leave now. And with that, everyone began to leave and go about as normal, a new day brightening the village of Jgk'hry.

- - -

"...That's just unbelievable." Ybir, Samba's mother, sat back at the table, crossing her arms as Samba finished his story. She had been listening, as had Vardi, to him (and Link, once Samba told him that Vardi knew as much Hylian as he did and Ybir knew more) recount the events of our story thus far from the time she'd left. Ybir looked at the Master Sword lying on the table, sheathed. "My son...Of all people, I never expected you to be able to hold the Master Sword, of all things, to be honest," she said, smirking. "I'm actually a bit proud."

Link looked confused. Vardi raised an eyeridge at him. "What, you expected ALL of us to be evil?" she asked him.

Link blushed and said, "Well, erm...kinda, yeah."

Ybir smirked and waggled a claw. "There's an exception to every rule," she reminded him in very fluent Hylian. "The one here is the 'all monsters must be evil' rule. As Samba told you when you guys met, we've been here for hundreds of years. So, from a nomadic tribe to a civilized one, I suppose, you can expect us to be a bit mellowed-out. In fact, our eyes are proof; they're normally more beady, less full of life," she added, pointing to her eyes.

Link nodded. "Yeah, I fought some others of your kind on the way to Zora's Domain," he said. "Now that I think about it, their eyes weren't as expressive...they were more animalistic."

Ybir nodded. "Yes. I'm very glad to have been born a Jgk'hry lizalfos," she commented, looking about her humble abode and at her family. "We live more like you hylians do, and, quite frankly, I have no idea how I would live otherwise!" She giggled, which actually sounded pretty sweet for a monster.

Samba sighed and shook his head, smiling. "That's my mother," he said.

Vardi did the same. "A hylian in a lizalfos's body."

Ybir pouted. "Hey, I'm a lizalfos in here! Just a really domesticized one!" she fought back. The family shared a laugh.

Link couldn't help but smile at this, memories of times he's had with his grandfather coming back. 'It's nice to see families like this,' he thought. 'That's what we're doing this for. Hyrule. The people and families of Hyrule.'

Ybir looked outside and raised her eyeridges. "Oh! Link, Samba!" she said, snapping her claws. "Our chief said he wanted to see you, didn't he?" she asked.

Link and Samba nodded. "Yeah, he did," Link said. "Should we go now?"

Ybir nodded. "Yeah. I want to come, too," she said. "I mean, besides, I think I have a little bit to tell you about the gorons and the state of affairs over there, seeing as you mentioned that's where you were GOING to go before my son lied to you and brought you here..." She gave a hard look at Samba when she said this last part, making him shrink a bit.

So, they were off. Samba led the way and Link was just behind him, talking to Ybir next to him. "So, what's the deal with the gorons, now?" Link asked.

She nodded and began, "Okay. Now, what I do for business is I go and sell lizaflorenized blue potion to the gorons. They buy them a lot because they like how energized it makes them feel. I suspect a few have also discovered the effects Rargon has, too," she added as bit suspiciously. "Anyway, though, the last time I was there, things weren't all that great there. They were all a little ornery when I mentioned their leader. They said it was something about King Zora arguing with him. They also said how they didn't really like him at the moment, since it's a known fact that he's been having a few secret talks lately."

"Secret talks?" repeated Link.

"They don't know with whom, but he's been seen sneaking out and talking with some folks in cloaks," she answered, shrugging. "If what you've been telling me is true, that something evil's afoot, then I think it might have something to do with those rumors going around these days of a monster uprising...They're just rumors, though, but still..." She crossed her arms and bowed her head in thought. "Well, anywho, I'd be a bit cautious around the gorons," she advised.

Link nodded. "Thank you," he said.

Finally, they got to the medical cavern. It was basically the village's version of a hospitol: Soft BEDS were against the wall, the smell of lizafloren was omnipresent, and the nicest-looking lizalfos in the village worked as nurses. Currently, Chief Kargaro was lying in a bed, being looked over by a nurse. "It appears as if some evil magic energy has been controlling you for a long time," the nurse was saying as they came in. "The energy being let out so abrupty by the power of the Master Sword must have left you weakened. A few days in bed and you'll be fine," he said. (Remember? Guys can be nurses?) "Just...don't stick around sources of evil energy, my chief," he joked.

Kargaro chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind," he replied.

The nurse bowed shortly and walked out. He walked around the three back outside into the lobby of the medical cavern. When Kargaro saw who it was, he smiled and beckoned with a paw. Link and Samba came over, Ybir staying a little behind. "Yes, my chief?" Samba asked.

"You two are now the Knights of Dualty, if I'm not mistaken, right?" he asked them in Hylian. He got nods and gave one himself. "Then I think I have an idea what you need to do." He laced his claws together. "When I was still more evil than a lizalfos has any right to be, in my opinion, I felt...connected to some being. And now, after being freed from the power of that being, I can sense it. Right now, if I use some of the magical power I have within that I also use to grow to that grand size you saw me in, I can see that many monsters have been...'infected' by this power." He closed his eyes. "Some monsters aren't really monsters, but actually non-hylians. For instance, I sense that there is something wrong with the ruler of the gorons...and much more than I do with King Zora, though I am unsure if it is due to distance or not."

Link and Samba looked at each other. "I had a feeling there was something fishy going on with him," Samba said, lowering his eyebrows and putting a paw to his chin.

Link blinked before slapping his forehead and giving a gentle punch to Samba's shoulder. "That was bad," he said. "But, yes, me, too."

Kargaro nodded, opening his eyes. "I see. Now, I know this is a bit to ask, but could you perhaps try to visit Princess Zelda, with whom I know you have ties with if you have the third Ring of Dualty, and tell her--"

"We can't," Link interrupted suddenly. Samba looked sharply at him. "She's been kidnapped."

Kargaro whipped his head around. "She's been WHAT?!--UNGH! Ow. REAL smart move, there, Kargaro..." He grumbled and massaged his neck. "I see, then. I was going to ask you to tell her of the events that have transpired here and that I believe that other rulers might become similarly affected--that she might, please, look into this matter," he explained. He shook his head gently. "Bah, no matter, now," he said. He looked at them both in the eye seriously.

"Samba, Link," he addressed. The two nodded. "HAVE you met with Zelda? Did she say anything?"

"Yes, we did, actually," Samba answered. "In fact, we all three met during the night you sent me to lead the raid to obtain Nayru's Ring. Link was actually after it, too--for nobler reasons, if I'm not being too rude as to say--and we got to the ring at the same time. So, we fought, nearly down to our last breath, untill the Princess of Hyrule herself stopped us and gave a lengthy talk to us about the rings and our destinies as the Knights of Dualty."

"She told us that she saw evil taking over the land in a dream," Link said. "Then, each in a beam of light that cleared the areas around of darkness, she saw us each holding a Ring of Dualty. That's how she knew we were them. She then said that, because of how she interpreted her dream, there shall be an evil taking on Hyrule that we, after getting the Master Sword, have to find and defeat together, an evil too large for one of us alone...Well..." He blushed. "ME alone, I suppose, seeing as I'm apparantly the decendent of the great Hero..."

"But, regardless of whoever's usually holding it or not, we've been sent by Zelda to first get the Master Sword, then find the evil and destroy it," Samba summarized, holding a claw up.

Kargaro nodded a bit, eyes closed and growling slightly in thought. "Grrrrrrrrrrmmmmmm...I see. Well," he opened his eyes, "I suppose this means I WAS thinking correctly before. I had a feeling that's what she wanted you to do; so, if you want to do it, I advise you listen close." Link and Samba leaned in a bit to listen. "Now, Ko most likely knows scads more about this than I do, but there exists a set of items that are said to contain a vast amount of power. These items are tied to the Rings of Dualty, as well. Whoever holds them holds the power to destroy entire nations--or save them. Do you want to know why?" he asked.

Link and Samba nodded.

Kargaro chuckled. "Well, good; once you find that out, tell me, since I'd rather like to know, too," he replied.

Link, Samba, and Ybir nearly anime-fell. "Well, as you said, Ko can probably tell you guys more about it," the female lizalfos said, shrugging. "But they DO sound potent. Are you suggesting these boys go out and find them, my chief?"

Kargaro nodded. "Yes," he confirmed. "I seem to remember that finding them would have been the next part of the plan that I, in my state of perpetual hatred, concocted; however, as so often occurs when things happen while you are having a fit of rage, the details are hazy. Everything is." He held his head in his paw as he said this. "What I DO remember is that I was an awful person...to everyone."

Ybir sighed and nodded solemnly. "Yes, you were," she agreed softly. "You worked our young men to their limits to become warriors, save for those who did so regardless, like Samba. You severely cut back on our interactions with the outside world, and when we did go, it was far longer than normal. You sometimes meted creul and unusual punishment. And you were very rude around people you obviously secretly dislike."

Kargaro nodded slowly at each offence. "Not to mention," he added, "I plotted to do something insane and used the fine people in this village to carry it out, placing some in grave danger. For instance, I sent Rargon to the Empty Cavern for such a relatively minor offence because I knew what would happen to the poor, oversized lizalfos."

Samba gasped and reeled back in horror. "You...You KNEW he'd become possessed by the Krungratrg?" he asked incredulously. "He was TORTURED when like that!!"

Kargaro shook his head, eyes squeezed shut. "I know, I know," he groaned. "It pains me to know I did that to him. I was being so cold...I had the desire to, at some point, go to him in the Empty Cavern and get him, though only now do I know how: I would have used the power of the evil formerly controlling me--or, really, it would have used me. I wanted a supersoldier, and I knew I had a good consolation when you came out of the dungeon with him in tow. I had thought of a second plan, using what I knew about Rargon and the potions. So expensive...ugh, I made us lose SO much money..." He shuddered. "Ybir, please add 'pointing us into a recession' onto your list, would you?" he asked weakly, looking up at her with sorry eyes.

Ybir sighed and shook her head. "It's not all your fault," she told him. "Remember, you weren't quite yourself. You were drunk, in a way; it's when people are sober that what they do has true credence."

Kargaro smiled at her. "You are such a fine woman to this village, Ybir," he complimented. "Wise, intelligent, brave, and always willing to listen to your good heart. Good..." He looked away a bit. "...I suppose that is something that all of us lizalfos have been trying hard to resist," he said quietly. "So long together, we've developed relationships--first out of need, then because it made things easier for us, and then because we need them for a completely different reason. Our hearts have softened a bit." He put his paw over his chest. "We know love. If we can love one another, I know...I know we can love others." He smiled as he looked up at Link. "Proof of that is the admiration I feel and the friendship Samba feels regarding you, Link. You, a hylian--and the decendent of the one who has harassed us for eons, it feels, to boot!" He chuckled and shook his head. "Haaah...Sorry if I seem to be acting strange...well, in a way different from before, of course. It's just that..." He looked away. "After you've been evil for that long, you have the sudden urge to be good. You know what I mean?"

"It's normal," Ybir said. "It's called 'being sorry and willing to make up for it.'" She smiled. "That just means it looks like you're going to carry out those promises!"

Kargaro smiled as well. "Heh, good," he said. He sighed. "Call me crazy, but...maybe...well..." He looked out the window carved into the rock at the villagers going about outside. "Maybe, just maybe...should I try and...and encourage us to...to let go of the evil within? I know that in all of us lizalfos, a race of monsters...there is evil. More than the amount in most other civilized creatures like hylians, zoras, or gorons." He put a paw to his chest again. "They've softened, but...have they softened enough that we could...we could try and accept the hylians, at least, as equals, making peace with them?" He looked to Link. "If we could do so with you, Link, then perhaps..." He shook his head and waved a paw. "Oh, forget about it. We'll always be evil inside. Sure, more good than evil, but still evil." He chuckled and added, "I should be grateful we're kind enough not to be cruel towards each other. Looking back on what I said before, I forgot how much race made a difference..." He sighed and shook his head again.

"I think I DO need some rest," he said. "I'm getting all philosophical and such. A good rest in a bed should do me good. In the meantime, I advise you go and speak with Ko about those items I talked about before you leave to the gorons." He smiled and bowed as best as he could from his bed. "I wish you luck, Knights of Dualty."

They bowed back respectfully and turned to go, Ybir waving farewell behind her. As they left the medical cavern, she commented, "You know, this kind of thing is pretty normal--remember, one doesn't know what one has 'til it's gone." She smiled and looked up at the sky through the giant fissure in the main cavern's ceiling. "I wonder if...Naaaah," she muttered, shaking her head. "The day THAT happens is the day I see my husband again," she said very quietly. Only Link, who was next to her (Samba was leading the way to Ko's house), heard her. He knew better than to make a comment, though.

When they reached the teacher's house, the door opened before Samba could knock. "Samba!" Ko cried happily, a wide grin on his face. "I was hoping you'd come say 'hi' before leaving again! And I don't have to trouble you to ask the hylian to come, either," he added, looking over at Link. He smiled at him and beckoned for them to come in.

"Ko, thank you for looking after my children as best you could while I was gone." Ybir took a sip of some herb tea that the scholar had had brewing beforehand. They were currently all sitting in his house, with her on his bed and the guys in the only three chairs in Ko's home.

Ko smiled and nodded. "It was my pleasure," he told her. "They're wonderful. Let's not forget they're great students, as well," he added, grinning at Samba. "Any trouble with your Hylian, Samba?" he asked.

Samba shook his head. "Nope. Everyone says it's actually very good," he said in the language. He chuckled. "I would be in quite a situation if I didn't know as much as I do, that's for sure. Thank you very much," he thanked, bowing.

Ko smiled warmly, blushing a bit. "It's just my job," he dismissed the implication that it was his teaching that had gotten Samba the way he was in terms of his second language. He sighed and looked at Link. "And here I am, talking my long tongue off without paying you any heed!" he said in Hylian. He bowed to him. "I am Ko, scholar and teacher of Hylian. I am very pleased to meet a hylian in person and honored to have them be who they are."

Link nodded and smiled. "Thank you very much," he replied. He raised his eyebrows as he remembered something. "Ah! NOW I know why your name's sounded familiar!" he said. He pointed at him. "Do you happen to know a hylian named Betta?"

Ko started in surprise. "Reh? How'd you know?" he asked. "Did Samba tell you?"

Link nodded. "Yup," he replied. He leaned in close. "Has he said anything recently?" he asked.

Ko nodded. "Yes, but...wait..." Ko looked him up and down. "Your name is Link, right?"

Link nodded again. "Yes. I'm from Kochyrae, waaaaay down on the southern end of Hyrule. It's scary, now that I think about it, that I'm friends with him," he mused aloud. "I mean, Samba's friends with you, and you taught him Hylian. I'm friends with Betta, and he taught me swordplay. And you and Betta know each other." He put a hand to his chin. "Strange." (Yes, I JUST realized this, myself. I'm that slow X.X)

Ko laughed. "Yes, that's odd, alright," he said. "Perhaps it's fate." He nodded and smiled. "Good, then I have a message to pass on to you," he told him. Link sat straight in his chair, interest piqued. "He told me, 'If you ever see my friend, Link, tell him that he doesn't have to worry about Kochyrae and that I'm healing really well.'" He crossed his arms and raised an eyeridge at Link. "He told me about your fight with Ruedekul. Sounded pretty exciting."

Link chuckled and groaned. "Uuuurgh, please, I'm surprised I didn't get any nightmares afterwards about it," he said. "It was NOT easy."

"Well, did YOU have to contend with something that could squash you with one toe?" asked Samba.

"...Technically, he didn't HAVE any toes."

"You know what I mean!"

"...Not really."

"Then I'm still saying mine was harder."

"Well, did YOU have to figure out a story problem to get by?"

"Nope."

"Then at least my ordeal beforehand was harder than yours, in my opinion."

"Yeah, but YOU didn't have to deal with screwed-up elevated platforms!"

Ko laughed at this exchange. "Of course you two were chosen to be partners," he commented, smirking. "You're so alike, yet different, it's perfect."

The swordsmen raised their eyebrows/-ridges and looked at each other. "Well, I guess he's got SOMEwhat of a point," Samba said.

"Dunno what all is similar, though," Link muttered.

Ko shook his head. "Nevermind, nevermind," he said. He leaned closer to Samba. "Could you...show me the Master Sword?" he asked, obviously hiding excitement. Samba nodded and drew it. Ko gasped at it and kept his jaw dropped. "It's...just like my books and scrolls say..." He bravely, quickly tapped the blade with a clawtip and hissed after drawing it back. "Owch. Yeah, exactly," he said, looking at a smoking clawtip. "Only you guys can touch it, alright. I suspect it would hurt a lot more were I not so...well, not to toot my horn, but so good..."

Link raised an eyebrow. "Another good lizalfos?" he asked. Ko gave a small blush and nervous smile and chuckle. "Wow. Beginning to wonder about this 'evil' you guys are talking about, from what I've seen so far," he joked.

Ko waggled a claw. "Ah, but you've just seen us reacting to a big event and getting our chief back," he said. "Come back in a couple days, and I assure you, you'll get more than a few grumbles and rough shoves by passerby." He cleared his throat. "Erm, well, could you, Link, show me the Ring of Dualty? And you, Samba, show me the others? I'd...rather like to see them, if you don't mind." He looked a bit shy and pressed his index clawtips together. Link and Samba complied, though, and showed him the rings. He raised his eyeridges in amazement at them. "They DO look so plain," he said in wonder. "But you can still see their luster as being above what they should have, if you look closely." He nodded and let them sit back again. (Samba had sheathed the Master Sword after Ko was finished looking at it.)

Before Ko could ask anything else, Samba said, "Ko, the chief talked to us and said something about items related to the Rings of Dualty that could save or doom nations. Know anything about them?"

Ko raised his eyeridges. "Oh? Well, those do sound familiar...hold on..." He got out his book and put on his glasses. "Let's see...hrrm..." He leafed through it, starting from the section about the Rings of Dualty. After a second, he let out a soft, "Rah!" and pointed to a paragraph. "It says something about eight special items that have the power to control terrible forces. These items are said to be tied to the Rings of Dualty, which are said to also be able to control said forces--but only when...something happens. Rrrgh, sorry, but the words are old and hard to decipher here." He gave a sorry look to them. "I'll hopefully have the rest deciphered by tomorrow. If you come back, I'll tell you. For now, though, all we have is what I've said and the fact that they've been scattered throughout Hyrule, deep within places that only...someones, I think, could get through."

Link and Samba nodded. "Thank you, Ko," Link said. Standing and stretching, he said, "Well, unless we've got any more important things to do here, Samba, we shouldn't waste any more time."

Samba nodded, getting up as well. "Right. As much as I'd love to stick around, we've got a job to do," he agreed. "Believe it or not, the shortcut I alibied about actually exists; it's how we get to Goron City to do trading. It's not exactly safe, but we should be able to handle it."

"Awwww..." Ko frowned disappointedly. "And I was about to ask about what's been happening..."

"I'll handle that," Ybir said to the swordsmen, chuckling smile on her face. "In the meantime, before you leave, Samba, why don't you go home and get some paper?"

Samba titled his head puzzledly. "Huh?"

"You're helping Link by telling him about different monsters, right?" Ybir asked. "Well, why not keep a written log of them? That way, you won't have to remind Link if he forgets--he could just refer to it."

"Wait, a monster log?" Ko asked. He got up and rushed to some shelves, rustling around mounds of parchment and paper. "Hang on...Ah-HAH! I KNEW I'd one left!" he cried triumphantly after holding up a wooden-covered, metal ring-bound book. It was about 4x7 inches and had at least and inch and a half of paper inside. Attatched by a length of string to the book was a sharpened charcoal stick. He held it out to Samba. "There. You can record it in here. It's a lot more professional than just a few sheets of paper, plus it's more compact. I'm pretty sure you're going to be carrying enough as it is," he chuckled.

Samba took the book, held it for a second to look at it, and opened it. The pages were all blank. "Nifty," he commented, smiling as he rifled through it. "Thanks, Ko!" He put it away. 'I'll write in the details on whoever we've seen already later. I think I'll even include things about the Leviathans, too. This is going to be pretty fun, actually, now that I think about it.'

"We'll come back after we're done with the gorons," Link told him. "That'll probably take a bit more than a day. Oh, if you can, tell Betta I said hi!" he added, smiling.

Ko nodded, smiling as well. "I will. Thank you for coming," he said, bowing. "You're welcome anytime."

Samba and Link moved to the door and turned to wave. Ybir and Ko waved back. "Bye, Samba! Be careful!" Ybir bade. "Come home anytime you need to, okay?"

"Good luck, you two! Whatever's going on, I know that you can stop it," Ko encouraged.

The swordsmen said farewell and left. After they got down, Link asked, "Are you guys always so sociable?"

"Naw, only the good ones," Samba said. "Besides, circumstances, you know?"

They ran into Thyu and Drejsk on the way to where Samba knew the shortcut was located. "Wow," Thyu said, putting his paws on his hips. "I never thought I'd be seeing a hylian and not beating on him...AGAIN."

"Yeah; normally, I'd be busy hitting on sim," Drejsk added. He bopped his head and corrected, "SITTING on HIM!"

"Nice work there, by the way, Samba," Thyu complimented. "I was worried when you never came back, but, DAMN, did you make a heck of an entrance." He chuckled and smirked at him. "Never knew you were the dramatic type." He shook his head, chuckling again. "Well, whatever's going on must be important, and you're stuck in the middle of it." He patted Samba's shoulder and laughed, "Have fun!!"

Before they went out of earshot, Drejsk called back, "Hey! If you're ever in the mood, feel free to come and spar with me! I'll make it worth your while!! I mean...wait, nevermind, that was right..."

"Sparring?" Link asked, looking at the blue lizalfos and raising an eyebrow.

"Drejsk's a...erm...dunno how to say it in your language," Samba replied.

"I can understand you guys, remember?"

"Oh! I forgot! But, uh, I'll just keep using Hylian whenever possible to keep my practice up." Samba nodded and said, in his native language, "As I was saying, Drejsk's a masochist."

Link stumbled a bit as he fought laughter. "You're joking?"

"Nope," Samba said, using Hylian again. He grinned. "It's actually a GREAT way to relieve stress and keep your skills sharp, using him as moving target practice and a fighting partner. I wonder what he meant when he said that he'd make it worth our while, though..." They shrugged and kept a mental note on that. For now, they needed to focus on getting out of Jgk'hry, since this chapter's taken long enough--er, they'd used enough time already.

Samba led Link halfway down the row of cave-houses and other places. They had a tavern, "The Liquid Lizard" in translation, that specialized in selling drinks with an herb that also grew nearby the village, ginseng, as well as some with a bit of lizafloren. An inn was connected to it, transtlatedly called "Scaled Nights". They also had a general store--"Greun's Bag"--that Link would have liked to go into (he was wondering if he should get a new shield before his precious, homemade wooden one burned), but Samba reminded him that they should keep their money for when they really needed it. They also passed by the somewhat-smelly area of town where the potion vats were, and Samba wondered if he should get a refill of his bottle. "I'd save it for a fairy," Link told him, so Samba let it go. (Besides, it WAS expensive.) Finally, they reached a great gap where another tunnel went. A guard stood on either side of it.

"Hey, you're Samba, right?" went one when they approached. "Thanks for whupping our chief's tail! We were getting tired of being so...well, not-fun, I guess. Abusing his power--tell me about it!" The guard shook his head. "Haaah...Anyway, you know that this path leads up to Goron City, right?...Okay, just checking. Oh, and tell the hylian that he should consider finding a metal shield; we've gotten reports of those annoying bokoblins playing with flaming arrows in places."

Link raised his eyebrows and gulped. 'I'll...just hide in my ring until we get there,' he thought. He'd worked hard on his shield, and he didn't want to see it burned up.

Samba nodded. "Right, thanks," he said, and beckoned Link to come on.

"Be careful!" called both guards after them.

"We know!" Link and Samba called back.

So, at last, after a long detour, Link and Samba continued onwards to Goron City and with their journey.

-- -- --

WOO-gah! Sorry for this one, guys; I think as Samba said, it had to be done. Worry not, though; After the next chapter, I promise to give you guys A DUNGEON!! -hears collective groan- Yeah, you think it's bad already? I don't hardly know where to START with it!! The other ones came so easily...perhaps this fic might go under an extended hiatus, like it did when I was stuck on The Empty Cavern...-remembers he ought to upload those maps on dA someday- I have a sort of idea about what to do beforehand, though, so at least you can expect another chapter. Thank you very much to the people who've been leaving those comments! I honestly feel honored, especailly from the one that, making me smile and blush (if I COULD blush; I have a feeling I'm incapable of the action), said it should be a game. That's what I aim for, actually -happy-sweatdrop- Well, I've gotta go do college applications...Hope you enjoied reading more than I did writing!!


	10. Gorons, People of Stone

Link and Samba went through another underground tunnel. There was a section where Samba could have used his jumping skills to get across, as well as a strange, straight line of notches that neither could use as holds, but the lizalfos said that wasn't the way across. They climbed across tricky terrain, but Link was able to handle it without hiding in his ring.

Finally, the duo exited the mountain's interior to its exterior, bright daylight washing over them. They were in a canyon with randomly-placed gigantic natural stone pillars sticking up and around, a relatively flat pathway reaching up and around. Niches dotted the walls and, to Link's dismay, bokoblins with flaming arrows filled a number of them. Fearing for his sheild's safety, the hylian said, "Sorry," and hid in his ring.

Samba frowned a bit at him, but understood and went on. He used his sheild to block the arrows as he used his own ammo to retaliate. It only took one pebble to the skull to make them fall down, screaming, from their sniper points. Then, Samba faced a dilema. "What on...?" he muttered when he saw a huge, spikey, bone-and-metal gate had been erected before the exit of the canyon. "When'd THIS get here?" Examining it further, he saw a locked door on it. "...I need a key. I doubt I could destroy this, even with Link, despite how hastily-built this looks..." He turned around as he heard a somewhat deeper bokoblin warcry and saw a bigger arrow clang against the gate's wall to his left.

Up high, inhabiting the top of one of the pillars, was a slightly bigger bokoblin. The difference here was that it was covered, head to toe, in studded leather armor. Even its face was hidden behind a full helmet. Samba's eyes saw a glint at its side, and as it moved a bit, he could make out a key. The bokoblin pumped its gauntlet in jeer as it saw Samba's grimace before it nocked and pulled back a great, flaming arrow.

Samba grunted and growled as he dodged the projectile. Link, in his ball of light, flew out and hung around the bokoblin, as he did whenever he wanted to know what the monster was. "What's with this one, Samba?" he called. "It looks different!"

"It is," Samba answered, holding up his much-punished buckler and blocking an arrow. "That's what's called, simply, an Armored Bokoblin. They're a bit tougher than other bokoblins, able to last more sword attacks, and their studded leather is reinforced against minor missiles."

"Missiles? You mean arrows and such?" Link asked.

"Yeah. That means my pebbles are no good against it," Samba growled. "Link, you'll have to be careful with your wooden shield--dodge the bigger, more painful arrows instead of blocking them. When you see it fire, jump aside or hide behind me; I'll use my buckler. Regardless, we'll need your arrows, since they can puncture leather armor!"

After his teammate had shouted up the instructions, Link gulped. "Oh, boy..." he muttered. After whispering a quick prayer, he told Samba to let him out. Samba took off his ring and held it, ready to toss it aside. Telling Link to get his bow out NOW once the next arrow came, Samba threw it. Link came out and drew his bow as fast as he could. He nocked an arrow, aimed, and--jumped aside as soon as he heard the snap of the bowstring. He re-aimed and fired his arrow.

The sharp-tipped stick lodged itself through the leather-covered helm, causing the armored bokoblin stop, sway, and let out a defeated cry as it fell down to the ground before them. Link checked the sheild on his back before sighing in relief. His life-saving piece of work was intact.

While Link put his bow away, Samba walked over and picked up the key the armored bokoblin had dropped. "Well, that was a waste of time," he muttered, coming back. "Good job, Link."

"Thank you," Link said, nodding. "I'll unlock the gate." He recieved the key, jogged over to the door, and opened it. The key he threw away, since there wouldn't be any good reason to keep it if they weren't going to lock it again. After that, they continued on, Samba leading again.

At last, after a bit more running along and fighting foes (no more bokoblins, to Link's relief), they reached the end of the trail. Below the point in the main path's wall their shortcut ended, they could see the gateway of Goron City, guarded by a pair of gorons (unarmored and unclothed (like that ever mattered), of course). After they made their way down the wall (which was so simple, even Link had no trouble), they went over to the gateway.

The two gorons, unsurprisingly, stopped them, crossing their burly arms and stepping together to form a living wall. "Halt!" said one on the right. "Who seeks entry into Goron City?"

Samba stepped over and nodded. "I'm Samba, from Jgk'hry, and this is my companion, Link," he introduced. He used Hylian, of course, since gorons don't understand Lizalfos.

At this, their hard expressions softened a little. "Ah, one of the friendly lizalfos?" went the goron who had spoken. "Here for business, are you?"

"I thought the next one wasn't due here for some time, though," went the other. "The last was a female who spoke fluent Hylian."

"That'd be my mother," murmured Samba proudly.

"We're here to see your leader," Link said, stepping up. "It's important."

The gorons tensed a little bit. "Erm..." went the first.

"...Well, if you really need to, sure," said the second. "I warn you, though, we're not in the greatest of moods right now."

"Something about your chief, right?" Samba checked.

They nodded. "We don't really like how our chief has been acting lately," the first goron went, scowling over his broad shoulder. "Rumors and doubts have sprung up about him...We don't know what's going to happen."

"Not only that," added the second, "but there's been some major economic loss now that we've been unable to access the Clamor Plant."

"Clamor Plant?" repeated both Link and Samba, looking at each other.

"Just ask around--we gorons would be glad to complain about it at this point," the first grumbled bitterly. They then stepped away from each other. "Oh..."

"Welcome to Goron City!" both greeted, giving their best smiles despite the situation.

Link and Samba nodded and went through the gateway. Before them was a two-tier cave city, much like Zora's Domain except that both levels were easily accessable, and that there were much fewer caves on the upper level. As well, a giant hole opened in the center of the wall on the ground area, containing stairs that decended underground. "The Gorons are closely tied to rock," Samba explained when Link asked about the hole. "Most of them live underground. The ones that live aboveground are there for curiosity of the outside or to easily get to their jobs, such as those who work outside the city or work to guard the gates."

They found a few gorons walking about on the surface. Link went over to one. "Hello, could you tell me where your leader is?" he asked kindly.

The goron frowned. "Him? I don't think you'd want to see Big Brother, but he lives at the bottom of the city," he answered. "You'd better not be one of those shady folks he's rumored to be speaking to, or else..." He left the sentence as such, crossing his arms before he walked off.

Link grimaced unsettledly at this. "I see what the guards meant," he muttered. Samba nodded.

Another goron was less threatening. "Oh, hello, to you, too!" he said brightly after being greeted by Link. He spread his arms animatedly. "It's not common to see hylians all the way up here! Your friend's kind is a lot more common. Are you here to see our underground home?"

Link and Samba merely chuckled and said they were in a way before moving on. Link raised his eyebrows upon seeing one shorter than them--a child. "Oh, hello," Link greeted going past.

The child, energetic as all good children should be, smiled and bounced his body a little bit. "Wow! A hylian AND a lizalfos!! This is exciting!" he said, voice a little deep for a youth but still too light for a full adult goron. "Whatcha here for? You come to buy some bombs?" They shook their heads. The child calmed down a bit as he continued, "No? Well, good, since bombs are a bit rare lately. Big Brother's steaming mad about it, too, since he wants us to make more of them for some reason. You'd need a bomb bag to hold them, though, and it doesn't look like you've got one. Hey, if we make more bombs, why not come back again, Brother?" he suggested, bouncing again.

Samba shrugged, but Link, interested in bombs, said he might before they went onwards again. After they reached the hole in the wall and went down a staircase, Link stopped in awe at the city around him.

Illuminated quite well by torches, the city was made of concentric circular paths, again like Zora's Domain, but instead of having lots of caves in the walls, a few big ones were there. Below, a gigantic, very old-looking, half-broken pot with a smiling goron face on it stood, roped off. A plaque could be seen below. They saw a goron standing there and Link went over to ask about the city.

"Hm? Oh," the goron went, turning around. He had been looking down below at the city. "Hello, there. You impressed by our city?" he asked, holding an arm out proudly to it. "It's built in levels, but in a different way than what the zoras did. What you see is our square, and the caves you see aroud us lead to pathways that lead to our homes. They also connect to other levels. We also have a shop on the lowest floor," he added, pointing to one of the caves on the level the broken pot was. He smiled back at the two and wished them to enjoy the city. "I never get tired of looking at it!"

They went on from there. They COULD have just jumped down from level to level, but Link didn't want to push his body's luck. They went through the pathways, which were a little confusing. Thankfully, wooden posts with bands of paint guided them to the next level, which they realized after running into a room with tons of boulders and another room with, to their surprise, lava. "Link, be careful here," Samba advised as they approached the room (which they had felt before they got there). "The rock around that lava is super-hot. You won't last very long without being hurt if you stood there. There isn't anything insulating against the heat on there. Us lizalfos wouldn't be hurt by it all that much, though, actually, since we're more resiliant to heat, but I wouldn't want to push MY body's luck."

"How come?" Link asked as they decided not to venture within. "I mean, about the rock being hot. I thought it'd be fine, being rock..."

Samba shrugged. "I don't know," he answered. "Ko says it's the same thing that explains why a boiling pot's handles sometimes get hot, even though they're not the things getting cooked or made of metal."

Link tugged at his collar a bit. "Ugh, I don't think I could handle it even if my feet could," he groaned. "Let's hurry up and go."

They eventually made it down to the next level, then the next. In the middle of the pathway, they met another goron. Link courteously greeted him, and was about to go on when the goron let out an amazed cry.

"WWOOOAH!! Are you insane, Brother?!" he asked, waving his arms at his sides as he leaned down to look at him. "This is Death Mountain, a live volcano! Why are you relying on a fragile wooden shield!?"

Link frowned, a little hurt. "It's actually quite sturdy, as its maker knows from experience," he defended (n.p.i.). "Besides, it's the only one I've got."

"You know what I me--oh, you made it?" the goron went, stopping the arm-waving. He blushed and put an arm behind his head. "Sorry, Brother. It's quite well-made, really! But the truth is, you'd better get a better shield--one that won't burn up. The shop here still has some Hylian Shields from when Clamor Plant was open to our use, still. Tell the owner that you made that shield and he might think higher of you...maybe give you a discount. You should stop by there, anyway, Brother!" he said, animating his arms a little bit.

Link smiled and thanked him for the tip before they continued downwards. Eventually, they made it to the bottom. Samba went over to the pot's plaque, interested in the vessel. "'-Goron Pot- This aged pot has existed since before the days of the great Dodongo Buster, Link. It has been Goron City's landmark from then and now, ever since gorons found it one day by chance during a mining operation.'," he read aloud to Link. He smirked as he looked at his companion. "'Dodongo Buster'?"

Link shrugged helplessly, blushing a little bit. "How should I know what all my ancestor did?" he asked, chuckling a bit.

They went over to the shop and found a stone counter, stone shelves, and a stone-eating shopkeep were inside. There were some product examples on the shelves. "Oh, welcome to the Goron General Store, Brothers!" he greeted, smiling and nodding. "We don't have everything, and we have some things you can find nowhere else! Take a look around, Brothers."

They saw they sold a few items, indeed. Of note were bundles of arrows for Link ("Top-quality and universally-used in most all bows!"), recovery hearts (single, 10 rupees), red potion (single-dosage, 40 rupees), and even bags of pebbles for Samba ("Good-sized pebbles that could be lethal with a good arm and eye."). Of extra note were two other items.

"Those bombs? They're useful for blowing up enemies, walls, and other things. You got a proper bag to hold them, Brother?" the shopkeeper asked. "But don't worry if you don't; we're very low on them and cannot sell them. I'm sorry, Brother!"

The other item was a red tunic. "Oh, that? That's a Goron Tunic, Brother. Adult-sized only, it'll let you go around areas that are too hot for you without a sweat--even nearby pools of lava!" advertized the goron. "You'll be hurt by cold attacks more, though, so be careful, Brother. Only 120 rupees a tunic; you want one?"

Link, curious, nodded. Samba hissed at him, indicating he can't. "We've only GOT 120 rupees," he told him. "We need to get you a Hylian Shield, don't we?" he asked.

Link sighed and nodded disappointedly. "Alright." He turned and spoke to the shopkeeper. "Say, you sell Hylian Shields, right?" he asked.

"Hylian Shields? Yeah, we've got some, still. They're 80 rupees and will withstand burning. Very useful up here!" the goron replied.

Link showed him his wooden shield. "I'd like to get one, since mine would burn," he said.

The goron raised his thick eyebrows and inspected it. "Wow, that's a very high-quality shield, there, Brother!" he complimented. "It'd be a shame to let it burn."

"Yeah, especially since I was the one who made it," Link agreed, chuckling.

The goron gasped. "YOU made it?! Oh, then why am I possibly putting you off with such a cost? I don't want to intimidate you and force you to end up with your handiwork destroyed! There's little worse than seeing your hard work ruined, Brother, as many of us gorons know," he sympathised. "How's about this: I'll cut the cost of the Hylian Shield for you, Brother!"

Link gasped and smiled. "Really?! Thank you very much, sir!" he bowed.

And so it was. Link purchased himself a hylian shield for 40 rupees. "This way, we'll be able to get that tunic in no time," he said excitedly, replacing shields and putting his old one away in his bag. (The goron blinked and rubbed his eyes when he saw such a large thing disappear from sight as if it were nothing.)

Samba half-eyed his teammate, raising an eyeridge and putting his wrists on his hips. "What is it with you and that tunic?" he asked.

"I was raised in a shop," Link explained. He winked and warned friendilly, "Don't think I don't know great value when I see it!"

After they got out of the shop, they saw another cave entrance to their left. A carpet bearing a pattern of the symbol of the gorons lay as a doormat, and braziers flanked it. "This might be where...erm, what's-his-face is," Samba commented.

"Daigorno?" supplied Link.

"Yeah."

"Well, this is pretty low," Link said, looking about. "And I don't see any other specially-decorated places. This must be it." He noted the fact they were alone, "Strange there're no guards around, though."

"What did King Zora want us to say?" asked Samba, looking up in remembrance. "To ask if he still believes in what he said the last time they spoke or something?"

Link nodded. "That sounds about right," he agreed. "Let's see if he's in."

They went into the cave entrance. Walking down a short hallway, they eventually made it into a large room. It was semi-cicular at one end and box-like for the rest. Decorative elements, such as goron emblem-bearing banners, torches, rugs, and do-dads filled the chamber, but almost not as much as the great goron sitting on a stone for a chair, staring at the opposite wall. (He sat at the end with the curved wall.) He had obviously amazing physical strength all over him. The markings covering the bodies of the other gorons were present on him, but were yellow and more intricate. Between the black, not pale grey, rock-like protrusions on his head and back that gave all gorons the resemblance of massive, tough-as-nails hedgehogs (normal hedgies, not THE hedgie) was red, making him look like a ball of molten rock if he were to curl up. He wore an ornate, mostly-white loincloth that was more like a kilt, seeing as it went all around his waist instead of just covering the front, with the goron's emblem on the front in black. His eyes were not brown, but an unusual shade of bright green. All in all, he was quite the unique goron.

Link and Samba fought gulping. They weren't scared, but they were anxious that he might not react well to them. Link stepped forth and cleared his throat. "Uhm...Excuse me, Chief Daigorno?"

The goron grunted and raised his head, looking at them with his eyes. "A lizalfos...and a hylian?? Hmph!" He stood up and stretched his arms, cracking his knuckles. His height was at least eight feet tall, if not nine. His weight, seeing as gorons are all naturally as heavy as, well, stone, had to be immeasurable. He beckoned to the two. "Come before me."

Link and Samba came forth and stood before him. Samba began to bow, but the goron shouted, "No! Nobody bows before me. That tells me you don't wish to listen to me, and would rather go to sleep."

Samba raised his eyeridges at this as he stood straight. "Erm...sorry," he said in surprise. "I never thought about that before."

The goron crossed his arms and nodded, frowning a bit. "I am, indeed, Daigorno, chief of the gorons who call me Big Brother," he introduced. "And I am currently busy. I cannot simply send away anyone who is brave enough to meet me, especially a mere human." He raised an eyebrow as he added, "A human and a monster traveling together is an interesting sight in itself, as well."

Link nodded. "I'm sorry you're busy, but we've come with a simple question," he said. 'I'd better start with just the question King Zora asked us to ask. I have a feeling that asking him about some rumors would be out of order until we have his trust,' he reasoned.

Daigorno tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "Hmmmmm? What question?" he asked.

"Do you still believe what you said to King Zora a little more than a week ago?" answered Link.

Daigorno's face instantly looked like it was about to erupt, and the swordsmen tensed to evade a blow. Just when it seemed he was going to strike them, however, Daigorno instead turned his head away with a "HMPH!". "I see. My answer is yes, I do," he replied. "That feeble fish is being a fool for not seeing the obvious way. His people's economy is doing no better than mine! Lizalfos," he addressed, looking at Samba, "you're from Jgk'hry, are you not?" His face looked painedly, yet in a way smilingly, frustrated, like someone who knows an obviously right answer who is dealing with someone who refuses to believe it stubbornly.

Samba, caught by a bit of surprise, nodded, and Daigorno continued with a nod. "Your chief is very wise, indeed. He knows that the only way to finally rescue you and the rest of his people is to..." Daigorno's eye strayed to Link, and he cleared his throat into his fist. "...*Ahem*. Well. That's enough of that, I suppose. Apologies for rambling." He stood with crossed arms once more. "Now, is that it? Then leave."

Link reluctantly nodded and was about to leave when Samba, intrigued with the mention of Kargaro, said, "Wait! You met with my chief?"

Daigorno exhaled an annoyed sigh, lowering and shaking his head. "Lizalfos, hylian, listen," he said quietly. "I am under a lot of stress at the moment. I'm very busy. I don't have time--nor do I have any obligation--to answer any more questions. Leave!" He whipped up his head at this, barking it out.

Samba grimaced, but he turned and left. "Thank you, Chief Daigorno," Link bade before he left, as well. Daigorno simply sauntered back to his seat and sat again, resuming his staring at the wall.

Once outside the chamber, Samba growled and crossed his arms, drumming his claws on his left bicep. "Grrrrrrrrr...He spoke with my chief. He knows I'm suspicious, so he wouldn't answer," he grumbled, his growling tinting his voice.

Link nodded. "I think it's safe to assume he's under the same spell Kargaro was," he said quietly. "We can't fight HIM, though, or we'd have to deal with severe consequences. No offence, but I doubt the rest of Hyrule would care if your chief was accidentially killed during your confrontation," he pointed out, smiling sheepishly.

Samba closed his eyes and nodded. "I understand. Besides, if the same thing happens and Daigorno grows to the size of a mountain," he added, "we can kiss our tails goodbye. You saw the arms on that guy, didn't you?"

Link shuddered at the thought of a giant goron of that size already. "And I soon won't forget, thanks," he muttered.

Samba turned, opening his eyes, and looked at Link. "Well, what do we do now?" he asked.

Link thought for a second. "I'm curious as to what it is that Clamor Plant place is," he stated. "From what everyone else is saying, it appears there's a problem with it. It looks like one of the things Daigorno is busy with, or at least peeved about."

Samba put a fist in his palm. "Then we should find out what the place is, where it is, what's going on, and see if we can solve it?" he guessed.

"Bullzeye," Link replied, pointing at Samba. "That way, we have the chance of getting on his good side."

Samba nodded. "Then let's go," he said. "We should talk to the other gorons about it." They turned and walked towards the way up and out.

On the way, Link said, "Hey, now that I have a shield that won't burn, it's safe for me to be leader again. You can keep the Master Sword for a bit more if you'd like, but I'd like to carry it a bit."

Samba looked at his side for a moment, drawing the Master Sword partway. He sighed and sheathed it again, smiling sadly. "Well, it's only fair," he said, and he teleported Nayru's Ring to Link, the Master Sword following suit. His normal sword replaced it once more.

Link nodded and thanked him as Betta's sword was switched with the Master Sword. "If we ever need you to be the leader, I'll give it back, don't worry," he assured him.

Samba smiled in gratitude before turning and getting back to walking. They made their way back up to the top and talked to the goron there still.

"Oh, hey, there!" the goron greeted. "You came from Big Brother's room...I'm sorry I didn't warn you about him." He looked a bit somber at this. "Did he say anything strange?"

Link shrugged. "Questionable, perhaps, but nothing we should worry about," he answered.

"Alright...Oh," the goron sighed, looking wistful, "I wish he could be nice again...He's been really uptight and too businesslike, and he's practically enemies with King Zora. He won't let us go out and help him, either, and I hear he's not doing all that well..."

Link and Samba frowned a bit at this, but Link asked, anyway, "What's the Clamor Plant?"

"The Clamor Plant?" the goron repeated, looking back at them. "I don't know much more about it than the fact we can't access it and it's important to us. I just care about our wonderful city!" He smiled again and turned to gaze at it once more after they said goodbye.

Back on the surface, they questioned some more gorons.

"Clamor Plant? You've never heard of it? It's where we gorons go to make use of our skills. You may not know it, but we have quite nimble fingers despite our size."

"Huh? Oh, Clamor Plant's an awful place. I'm almost glad we can't go there again; I worked there. The din is so bad sometimes that it would annoy Din!"

"Clamor Plant? I don't know much, Brother, but I know that we gorons have a lot of technology we won't share with the rest of Hyrule being used there. That, and it's really dangerous for non-gorons, even normally. Oh, and we also make things there! Not bombs, though--that place is a seeeecreeet!!"

Nobody else apart from two adults and the child from before gave them new information on the ground level. They saw a different-looking goron standing on the second level, then, though, and decided to ask. The goron in question wore what appeared to be a set of goggles on his head and a tough, brown cloth loincloth with pockets holding some tools. He looked a little skinnier than the other gorons, as well as a bit shorter. He was grumbling outside one of the caves. "...Can't believe it..." he was saying when Link and Samba approached.

"Excuse me, sir?" Link asked.

The goron started and looked to his side, and the two felt good that they didn't have to be looked down on so much. "Oh! Sorry, I was mumbling...What is it?" he asked.

"What do you know about Clamor Plant?" Link inquired.

The goron fumed and crossed his arms. "That I can't get there and Big Brother won't let us send anyone over," he answered. He looked at them and frowned a little. "...That's not the answer you're looking for, is it?" he asked guiltily, and they nodded. He sighed and put a big hand behind his spiky head. "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit angry right now. I can't get to Clamor Plant, where I work, and I miss my job."

"What exactly IS Clamor Plant, by the way?" Samba asked.

The goron smiled and held up an arm while he explained, "Well, it's a factory. But it's, in truth, a smithery. Actually, to be perfectly honest, it's a foundry."

Samba blinked in confusion, but Link raised an eyebrow and asked, "So, it's a place where you make metal, metal objects, and...whatever a factory does, right?"

The goron chuckled impressedly and nodded. "That's right, Brother," he answered. "It's all three: It's a place where things are created with the help of machines--a factory--a place where we create weapons and armor--a smithery--and a place to create metal in different shapes--a foundry."

Samba grumbled, unamused, "Then why didn't you just answer me straight?"

The goron thumbed himself. "I'm Boroy, and my job is to keep an eye on the machines we use there to make sure they don't break and cause a mess," he introduced. "In other words, I'm a mechanic. I also work with the machines to create things that need both machine and goron help."

Link nodded, interested. "I'm Link, and this is my friend, Samba," he introduced. "We're just wondering what's going on with this Clamor Plant place you work at."

Boroy (BORE-oy) furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. They noticed his forearms were large compared to the rest of his arms. "Oh, were to begin, Brother? Well, let's see...Let me give you a little background." He held a hand again. "Clamor Plant, officially called the Death Canyon Foundry and Smithery, is often called that because of the fact that stepping onto the main factory floor and in many other rooms assaults your ears with what someone once described as 'a symphony made up only of metal precussion hit with metal'. We use it to produce a great deal of the metal objects, weapons, and armor in Hyrule. That hylian shield I see you have, Link, was made at Clamor Plant," he examplified.

"That explains why you were selling it here," the green-wearing human commented, looking at the famous traditional design on the ornate protector.

"When we discovered how to utilize lightning as a power source and how to harness the earth's heat to generate lightning, it wasn't soon afterwards that advancements in foundry work came in leaps and bounds," Boroy continued. "We created machines that run on their own, using electricity, which is what we consider lightning when it's not coming from the clouds, to power them. With those, we upgraded the place in Death Canyon where our little foundry and smithery was into the behemoth it is today. It's quite amazing how far we've come with our technology, isn't it, Brother?" he asked, smiling proudly. "I bet you've never seen electrically-powered machines, have you?"

"The only machines that I've ever seen run on their own are waterwheels," Link admitted.

"The most technology I've ever seen is when I saw a bunch of gears made out of stone open a huge door," Samba recollected.

Boroy crossed his arms and furrowed his brow again. "We've been happy with our successful form of income to purchase things like wood for our torches and cloth to make clothing for those who want it--food's no issue with all of the tasty rocks we know where to find--until a couple of weeks ago," he went on. "I was just coming back from fixing one of the buckets that pour molten metal into molds made of compressed sand when I heard a rumbling and a roaring. Ironclad creatures, more mechanical than living, came from the halls and attacked, led by giant pieces of something greater. It was all me and the others could do to corral these larger pieces into a room that we never entered, even before we upgraded the foundry. We heard not crunching, but clanging, as if metal came up against metal and fastened. We had no time to see what else happened, since we had to run for fear of our lives. Strong as we are, those creatures' metal exteriors are too tough for our bodies to destroy in time without withstanding injuries."

Link and Samba looked at each other, both suspicious. "Why was the room sealed?" Link wondered aloud, looking back.

Boroy chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me, but I'll tell you anyway: There's a giant monster like nobody has ever seen there."

Link and Samba nodded at each other. "It must be," Samba said.

Link said to Boroy, "We want to go there."

Boroy raised his eyebrows and uncrossed his arms in surprise. "Are you serious, Brother?" he asked. "That place is dangerous! What could a human and a lizalfos do there that we couldn't? And why? The treasures we created have been sealed away inside, deep in places that must by now be heavily guarded by mechanical monsters, so you'd never be able to get to them!"

Samba chuckled. "Well, we just want to see what we can do," he told him. "We might be able to help you."

At this, Boroy put a hand to his chin. "Hmmmm...You have a hard bargin, Brother, but..." He studied them for a few seconds. Finally, he drew his hand away from his chin, revealing a smile. "Alright, Brothers, I'll take you there. The fastest way is down the ore tunnel between there and our mines at Death Mountain Crater, which isn't too far from here. You'll need to get a Goron Tunic, however, Link," he said. "There are a number of rooms in Clamor Plant that are very hot from molten metal, and Death Mountain Crater is the center of the volcano. The rock all around will be red-hot, and the tunic will stop you from getting burned. Samba, I doubt you'll be affected much, will you?" he asked.

Samba shrugged. "I doubt it, but I might want some footwear, seeing as I'm in bare footpaws," he said.

"Really? I don't think you'll be hurt, Brother, to be honest," the mechanic stated, smiling. "You look more hardy than other lizalfos. I don't know what it is, but...I just know."

Samba blushed a bit. "Rer, thanks," he muttered.

"I'd love to give you one, but I don't have any goron tunics," Boroy told Link. "Come back here when you've got one. You can buy them in the store, but they're a bit expensive--120 rupees. I'm sorry, but you'll have to scrounge up some money, Brother!" Boroy nodded and leaned against the wall, arms crossed, to wait.

Link and Samba nodded and left. Link smirked at Samba, who looked a little confused and went, "What?"

"Told you."

"Told me wh--oh. Value." He pouted. "In our line of work, it actually was pretty obvious it'd be useful, you know," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but who knew we'd be going somewhere hot?" Link asked.

"Weren't we going to see that one gerudo woman, Aradia?" asked Samba. "That's a pretty hot place."

"I doubt it'd be too hot for me to handle normally if other humans can..."

So, they left the city and returned to the rest of the mountain, where they began to scrounge around. They fought against monsters, destroyed rocks, and, after a suggestion from Link, explored a cave.

Inside, they found it was very small. Water pooled in places, and the entrance granted little light. It gave enough light to show a wall of stone at the other end. Keese came and flew at them once disturbed.

While fighting them, Link's Master Sword hit the wall on accident. When it did, it let out an odd sound, much different from normal. Link noted this and walked over to a different wall after the fight.

"What're you doing?" Samba asked. "There's nothing in here. The only thing that might be interesting is that there're a few large red rocks that I'm sure I can blow up with my Fire Pebble; there'd be no use, though."

Link ignored him and hit the wall with the Master Sword a few times. K-TUNG. K-TUNG. K-TUNG. Samba stood and looked at him with wide eyes and furrowed brow. "Are you feeling alright, Link?" he asked, coming over carefully.

Link stopped and thought for a moment, then went over to the other wall and hit it. K-TUNG. K-TUNG. K-TUNG. He then went back to the wall he had hit while fighting and repeated the process. KL-TANG. KL-TANG. KL-TANG.

Samba raised an eyeridge at this. "Huh?" he muttered. "Wait...you were seeing if that wall made different sounds?"

"Doesn't that sound...conspicuous to you, Samba?" Link asked, turning to his friend. "Never heard any rock make that sort of noise when I hit it with my sword."

"I've accidentially hit a few walls with mine, too, but never something sounding so..." Samba searched for the word. Link hit it again. KL-TANG. Samba raised his eyeridges. "...so hollow..." He looked around and found the largish red stones. There were about three of them. "I think I'm thinking what you're thinking," Samba said.

"Good," Link said, sheathing the Master Sword and running to get a stone. "One?"

"All, just in case."

"Right. C'mon, help."

Together, they placed all three stones against the wall, making sure each one touched. Then, Samba told Link to stand back before he Fire Pebbled them. They glowed and burst, taking out the wall of stone with it. Behind it lay, to their surprise, a chest.

And a vile scritching sound.

"What's THAT?" Link asked.

Samba narrowed his gaze as he cautiously stepped forth into the room. "Sounds like a skulltula, but...different. More...vicious." He looked around after entering the small chamber with the chest and found the source above the doorway. "Woah!"

Link ran in and found it, too. Together, they shot it with a pebble and an arrow. It let out a deathcry from the overkill and curled against the wall before exploding in defeat. There, hanging in its place, was a rotating piece of gold shaped like a skull surrounded by blue flame.

"That," Samba said, "must have been a legendary Gold Skulltula. The first Hero found them and destroyed them during his quest. In return for obtaining certain amounts of that thing, a Skulltula Token, he assisted a family that had been cursed for its greed and, in turn, was rewarded. And I mean in the sense people think of."

Link brought down the token with his trusty boomerang and looked at it. It looked interesting, to say the least, and was about the size of a medal. It continued to float over his palm in the place the boomerang left it before he grabbed it. The blue flame extinguished and he felt the item obey gravity. It was made of pure gold, he saw. Link smiled and put it away. "I don't know why, but I have the feeling we should keep it," he told Samba.

Turning to the matter of the chest, they found inside of it...a red rupee. Samba pouted in disappointment, but Link was happy to have gotten it easily. "Only 17 more rupees to go," he said happily before leading the way out.

After defeating more enemies and destroying more rocks and gathering the spoils of war and the gifts of the minish, respectively, they had pooled enough money to get Link his tunic. Were this an anime, Samba would have been sweatdropping as he jogged after a beaming Link. (He wasn't supposed to sweatdrop last chapter; that was a goof-up brought on by force of habit.) "I swear, you're a girl in disguise," he muttered, half-eyeing.

"I was raised in a shop," Link repeated over his shoulder as they went down the passages of Goron City. "It's only even more natural to feel the desire to obtain things with value."

"What kind of logic is that?!" Samba asked, raising an eyeridge.

"I respect the value of things, both monetary and otherwise, so I feel excited whenever I get the opportunity to find out the value for myself," he explained. "I was so excited when my grandfather gave me one of our bows, since I'd always wanted one for its worth, which you've seen in action. It's...a bit complicated."

Samba shrugged. "Well, your logic is, but I guess I get the gist of it," he said.

They reached the shop and Link went to the shopkeep. "Hello again," he greeted. "I'd like to get a Goron Tunic, please."

The shopkeeper smiled and nodded. "Sure thing, Brother! Just pay me 120 rupees and it's yours."

"Samba?" Link asked, turning around. His face said he was obviously eager to get the new clothes.

Samba sighed, holding his paws up. "Link, you look like a hatchling about to get a new toy," he told him, shaking his head.

"Well..." Link tried to give an alibi, but for once couldn't think of one using his reason.

Samba forked over his red rupee anyway, and Link used it with his 100 rupees to buy the clothes. "Aaaaand here you go, Brother!" chirped the shopkeep, bringing over an armful of folded clothes. "I could even dig up a cap like yours so that you don't clash! I hope they're all the right size, Brother, and take good care of them!"

Link smiled and thanked him graciously while he took the pile. He then turned and stood, holding the clothes up in victory for a moment before he put them into his inventory.

Samba made no comment about that and joked, "Alright, you done clothes shopping, sweetie?" This earned him a playful bop on the helmet, which made him laugh. They said good-bye to the shopkeeper and exited. Once they got outside, Link looked around.

"Where's a good place to change, you think?" he asked.

"I dunno. Do you have to take off your undergarmets?" Samba asked.

"I shouldn't, unless they supplied me with fireproof underwear." (*Wonders how many people know what point-and-click game I'm referencing to*)

"Then you could change in a cave or something, since I don't mind watching men take off their clothes. I mean, for one, we're of different races," he hastilly added when Link looked at him strangely.

That wasn't necessary, however, since, after Link went back to inquire, the shop had a dressing room. Within an amazingly short amount of time, Link came out. Instead of being dressed in green, he wore red. The goron emblem was sewn onto his left brest, and was hidden partly underneath the strap holding his sword and shield. He also wore smoke grey, thin-looking gloves and tights that the shopkeeper explained were to protect his hands and feet from the heat, as well. (Tights DO have feet, right?) The material those parts were made of was the most difficult to make, apparantly.

Now fully prepared, the duo trotted off out of the most part of Goron City and up to the very top of it. There, they saw Boroy, standing like he was when they left. He smiled as the hylian came up to him. "Oh, hey, looking great, Brother!" complimented the mechanic, looking Link up and down. "Those colors look nice on you. With that, I'd say you're set! But what do YOU say, Brother? Ready?"

Link looked at Samba, who nodded. He smiled, looked back, and nodded. Boroy smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Alright, then, Brothers, let's get going! Follow me up the mountain!" He turned and trotted off down to the first floor, and Link and Samba followed.

They exited Goron City and went down the main path a ways until they turned a sharp left and up a steeper incline. They followed Boroy a ways before the mountain began to rumble. "Look out!" Boroy called over his shoulder. "Death Mountain's raining!!"

It was true. To both swordsmen's surprise, great, flaming boulders were raining down onto them. They kept running, Samba grabbing his tail before it got crushed. They outpaced Boroy, who would stop and tuck into a ball a second before getting hit (he knew he could never outrun them). They made it to a cliff face with a long, tricky climb between ledges and wall-climbing. When they got there, Link and Samba were safe from the eruption if they hid beneath one of the ledges. The stones that didn't hit someone either broke on the mountainside or bounced and began rolling down the path. "THAT explains the boulders from before," Samba realized. "I thought it was someone pushing them at us."

"Yes," Boroy said as he approached them, the eruption ending a little before he got there. "Sometimes, when Death Mountain erupts like that, boulders survive the fall and roll down the path. More have been doing it lately, but it's just a phase the mountain is going through." He went over and looked at the cliff before them. "Oh, I wish we could use the elevator in Goron City...We can't because we'd get caught and in trouble," he explained before Samba could complain. He sighed and went over to a spot with holds too big for the swordsmen to use easilly and began to climb. "Well, start climbing, Brothers," he said.

Link and Samba started. They had to hop across stone shelves, which once required Link to hide in his ring, do freeform climbing, or edge across ledges. Samba finally found a hindrance in his large footpaws in that he couldn't stand on the ledges, so he had to drop down and go paw-over-paw along behind Link while the human went carefully along (secretly grinning for being able to do something physical his friend couldn't, for once). (Link also found he was a bit faster climber than Samba was.) Once, Samba had to hide in HIS ring when they were sidling in front of rough rocks that would hurt the lizalfos if he hung down and went across.

Eventually, they made it up. Both of them sat back and panted. Boroy was standing there, waiting with crossed arms. "What, tired from that little crawl, Brothers?" he joked, and he chuckled at the whithering looks he was given. "Once you've got your wind back, follow me again." He waited, and a few minutes later, they were ready again. He beckoned them into a wide-mouthed cave.

Once they entered, Link and Samba felt a heatwave hit them. Samba smiled at it. It felt good to him, and he liked it. He knew he COULD overheat, however, and was glad he wasn't overweight. 'Drejsk would DIE here,' he mused.

Link, on the other hand, felt a little uncomfortable. The clothing he wore, however, blocked the heat like tight-woven normal clothing would repel wind. 'Interesting,' he thought.

Boroy looked unfazed by the heat, and when they finally got out of the tunnel and into Death Mountain Crater, he treated it as nothing when they saw a pool of bright, molten lava beneath them. Link and Samba stopped and gaped as they saw it, but not for long from the hot air. Boroy called to them, and they followed him bravely across wooden bridges that, in Link's opinion, should be burnt to a crisp (or at least charcoal) from the ambient heat alone.

After making their way across half of the crater, watching lava beneath them through the slats, Link and Samba found themselves in front of a wide cavemouth. "This is the ore tunnel, which we use to carry ore obtained from the mines over there," explained Boroy, pointing to a slightly narrower opening that led down. Track was visible, and an empty cart stood unattended. "I could bore you with the details of our business's inner workings, but I won't," Boroy relented, lowering his arm again. He beckoned, and they followed him inside the tunnel.

They saw a few mine carts and a lot of tracks. Some of them were different--they were circular instead of boxlike. "These are the ones we're going in," Boroy said, getting into one near them. "They're operated by these levers in the middle, which tell when to brake--" he pointed to one with a red handle, "--and when to go forwards or backwards with an electrically-powered motor, which is what that third rail is for," he explained, now pointing to a lever with a white handle. "They're meant for two gorons, but you two probably make up for the missing second goron, Brothers," he went on, smiling. "Come on and take a seat."

Link went in first, then Samba. They sat down on the seats in the cart. "Hold on to these bars very tightly," instructed Boroy, indicating thick metal bars around the inside of the cart. "We're too big to put in restraints, so these have to do. Hold on tight, or you're going to die, alright, Brothers?" They nervously nodded and clutched them with their lives. Samba could wrap his tail around one a little, acutually, so he did. "Okay, here we go!" Boroy announced, and he pushed the brakes handle.

The cart made a grinding sound and shook, then began to roll down the slope, going slow at first before it accelerated faster and faster. Link and Samba felt as if their hearts were clenching in their chests as they suddenly dipped down and began spiraling. The torches had vanished as soon as they had left the "station", so they were careening through the dark, rattling along tracks at wild speeds.

"ISN'T THIS FUN, BROTHERS??" asked Boroy.

"IF YOU SAY SO," Link called back, wondering why his hat hadn't flown off yet since he couldn't grab it.

"WHY IS IT SPIRALING AROUND AND GOING ALL OVER THE PLACE?" asked Samba.

"IT'S THE WAY THEY BUILT THE TRACK," answered Boroy. "THEY COULDN'T DO A STRAIGHT LINE, OR ELSE IT WOULD BE TOO STEEP FOR THE ORE TO STAY INSIDE THE CARTS."

"Of course, he didn't say 'too steep for us to push it up,'" mused Samba aloud. Downwind from Link, he was heard by his friend, who chuckled despite the thrill in his chest.

After a while of this, they saw a single large cluster of bioluminescent mushrooms zip past them. "OKAY, THAT'S THE WARNING TO PUT ON THE BRAKES SOON," Boroy explained. "TWO MORE, AND WE'LL BE HITTING STRAIGHT TRACK. WE'RE JUST ABOUT THERE, DON'T WORRY!"

The second came...then the third. With a bit of a throw into their seats, Link and Samba felt the cart begin to coast on level ground. As soon as they did, they heard an awful screech and saw sparks spraying behind them as Boroy pulled the brakes. After another few minutes of deceleration, they began to see torches as they pulled into the other "station". At last, Boroy stopped the brakes and let the cart trundle to the end, where it bumped the brace and bounced back a bit before stopping.

"Alllright, Brothers!" Boroy said, grinning and pulling down the brakes to secure the cart. "We're here! We'll have to go through the outside exit, since the one connected right to the foundry's blast furnace is most likely infested. I'm just going to escort you along to the entrance, but that's as far as I'll go."

"We understand," Samba said as they followed him down another tunnel. He looked back over his shoulder at the cart tracks. "Truth be told, that was really fun, actually," he admitted.

"See?" Boroy smiled.

They exited the tunnel and found sunset light washing over them. A beautiful canyon faced them on the ledge they stood on. Below them was a deep, very, VERY far-down river, with trees across the shores. "In the spring, there's a gorgeous--pardon the pun--mist that covers the bottom and rises up," Boroy said. "I love it." He led them across the broad ledge they inhabited until they met metal flooring and a guard rail. The metal, dark and dull from traffic and erosion, was sandy from the canyon, at first, but the tiny bits of debris became nearly non-existant the higher up they went. Finally, they stopped as they faced it.

An iron building front stared out squarely at them as it stuck out from the cliffside. A large balcony spread from it and jutted out above the canyon. Two great metal doors, each with half of a goron emblem and creating a whole when closed, kept the horrors inside and them out.

Silence was all they could hear outside. Silence and wind.

"Savor this quiet, Brothers," Boroy said softly. "Once inside, you'll almost wish you were born deaf." There was a moment of silence. "Good luck, Brothers," bade the mechanic. "I'll stay out here. You go and help everyone."

"What?" Samba looked at him. "I thought everyone had evacuated, right?"

Boroy looked away. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I didn't want to worry you. Some of my friends and co-workers never came out. Goodness knows what's wrong with them. They must be starving...As tough as we are, we can't survive much longer." He looked at them pleadingly. "Please--if they're still alive, save them, Brothers," he begged, clasping his hands together.

Link and Samba looked sympathetically at each other, as well as with a bit of grim humor. "Looks like we're not alone wherever we go, eh?" Link asked.

"Looks like," Samba agreed.

They looked back at Boroy and smiled, nodding. "We'll help them if we find them," Link told him. "We promise."

Boroy sighed in relief and bowed his head. "THANK you, Brothers! Good luck, and give those ironheads what for, for all of us!" he cheered, shaking a fist encouragingly.

Link and Samba nodded and turned to face their next challenge--and their first challenge together as a team. (The Master Sword didn't count.) Then, they walked forth and each opened a door into the foundry with a squeak, stepped inside, and disappeared.

Boroy stood and watched, staring at the once-workplace, now-deathtrap that was officially the Death Canyon Foundry and Smithery. A building he and the other gorons called by a different name.

Clamor Plant.

- - - -

Whoo, boy! Would you believe that I got this all done on one snow day? Yeah, I know, I should've been catching up on college apps. I'm lazy and had to shovel while cursed with fingers that always go numb no matter HOW many gloves I layer on, so sue me. XP. I've got a good idea about what the next dungeon--obviously called Clamor Plant (I want to call it The Clamor Plant, a little, actually...I might interchange it)--is going to be like, but I'll draw it up before I completely do it. Thank you very much to all who review this, and if you think this bunch of garbage merits a game, then I thank you even more, since that IS kind of my intention, here. Too bad it could probably never come to be as I've written it, since the last traditional 3D Zelda was TP, according to Miyamoto. (Cross your fingers that they'll pop a miracle with motion controls, especially with the advent of Motion Plus, people!! They did remarkable on DS, so here's hopin'!) If someone has found or made a program (or at least the 3D Zelda uber-hack of pure pwnage) that lets people make their own 3D Zelda, tell me where I could find it, please, and I'll try to at least create the dungeons. (I doubt I'll ever be able to pull it off in Unreal Ed truly, given my skills...) Anyway, thank you for reading, and sit tight for the next dungeon. (In the meantime, why not read some of my other fics if you haven't--say, oh, I dunno, Puzzle of Truth? And NOT Chosen One? (*lets self be hit by chalkboard eraser for shameless self ad*)) See ya!!

PS: Yeah, I took pretty liberally from Ocarina of Time for Goron City--I couldn't think up much cool puzzle things for it. I guess Zora's Domain was kind of a by-chance thing. And I apologize if this chapter feels a little stale. I mean, hey, I did it all on a snow day ;P

Oh, yeah, speaking of taking from OoT, the return of equipment as a serious mechanic, as seen in the update of the Goron Tunic. I personally liked using the equipment subscreen to change tunics in OoT (but, like any other person, hated it during the Water Temple; I'm crazy (the kind that includes the fact that I like Navi), but not THAT crazy) and missed it during WW (though that's kinda moot with the fact this is set in a TP-style Hyrule). Expect to see some clothing equips for more than one (normal) dungeon!

One more quick note: I thought to myself, 'Why did I make them not go to the store after learning a metal shield would be needed for Link back in Jgk'hry?' and, 'God, I'm dumb.' So I kinda did a bit of a deus ex machina here. On the plus side, however, it helped develop Link and introduced an element absent until now: Gold Skulltulas. Yep, another steal from OoT, with a bit of a twist, which you'll see the next time they find one. (I've also got to figure out a trading game fast, or else it'd start too late...)


	11. Clamor Plant: Fortissimo Overture

Link and Samba stepped into the infamous foundry and stopped to look around them. Metal met their eyes in almost every place they could see--which, admittedly, was not very much. Standing in what they assumed to be the foyer, they could see a pair of slanting I-beam girders forming a triangle, point up, in the center and one on each side of it, these triangles being perpendicular in direction to the center one. Link noted the placement of the first triangle's floor ends and the thickness of the beams made it a somewhat difficult squeeze between them and the ones of the others. All three of the basic, yet powerful, shapes supported a set of cylinders--rollers--sandwiched between a lower long, broad, flat surface (to which the supports attached to) and an upper surface of equal size that was moving along. The device emitted a medium-volume trundling noise that served as the first taste of the racket the swordsmen could hear, muffled, behind the three walls in their field of vision.

Above them and flush against the middle of the machine was a woven wire floor, cross hatching the ceiling with dull, rust-colored metal lines. It appeared more sturdy than it at first looked, and the wires were close enough together that Samba would most likely strike one of them if he attempted to toss a pebble through. This was a problem, since they could barely see a sliver of a crystal switch on the ceiling from their position. In the ceiling, two grating-covered pairs of long cylinders emitted almost harsh, white light, the bars glowing brightly.

Before and to the left and right of them, each lined up with a triangle support, were three doors. They were large and rectangular and in double door fashion, though smaller than the ones behind them at the moment. They had no handles--only a circle in the center of the portal that held a largish, octagonal button with a thickness that allowed a quarter-sized hole to be drilled through one side and out the other. The doors themselves were designed with a large goron emblem in the center and rectangles etched into three sections each (stacked broad sides together) on each door in the background of the logo. On the doors to the left and right of them, however, three thick, squared bars were pressing up against the edges of the goron emblem, preventing it from opening if they did, as Link assumed, slide into the walls.

On the far wall, one on either side of the door, was a pair of goron emblems made of red gems. Well, the one on the right was; the one on the left was missing the three triangles above the main shape. They could see three-cornered slots where they had fit.

The walls themselves were tall and broad and generally flat, made of panels of metal. At places, there was an open panel, revealing rock within and, occasionally, a few exposed cords of wire with different-colored coatings (probably to tell which went where), some showing the metal beneath and sparking every now and then. Below them was a floor that consisted of a thin layer of tannish dust, with more of the covering the closer to the entrance one got, and, surprise, surprise, metal flooring. A pattern of raised, perpendicularly-oriented, pointed ovals provided better traction and an interesting, state-of-mind inspiring feeling when one looked at it.

To be blunt, there was a lot of metal.

"This is going to be a very annoying dungeon, isn't it?" Link asked a little weakly, looking about at the cold hardness and new sights, mostly above.

"Let's not forget a very long day," Samba added grumpilly, doing the same, mostly at eye level.

They looked back at each other, sighed, then nodded resolutely and began. Link walked forwards to the first door, Samba behind him, and, after getting a good look at it (assimilating the description above), shrugged and pressed the button. The button stayed inside the circle, which depressed inwards a little, turned a third clockwise, and seperated from the left door as both slid apart moderately slowly, allowing time for Link, then Samba, to run through.

But even before they entered the next room, the relative quietness and moderate coolness of the foyer vanished as their flesh and their eardrums were hit with an onrush of air and what it carried as soon as the door opened. Heat started their sense of touch feeling waves crawling up their skin and hide, while their sense of hearing was sent telling their hands and paws to cover their ears reflexively as the sound came.

The grinding of gears turning each other.

The rattling of wheels moving along tracks.

The whining of iron sliding across steel.

The sizzling of metal pouring onto surfaces.

The roaring of motors running machines along.

The blaring of sirens signaling dangerous operations.

The ringing of tools striking temporary bells.

The clamoring of industrialization working relentlessly ceaselessly.

The foundry was very, very aptly nicknamed, indeed.

"Great Din!!" Link swore loudly as this experience met his ears.

"You said it!!" Samba shouted as it met his.

They stood, ears reluctantly naked, as they took in the gargantuan monstrosity of a chamber they now stood inside. On the floor they were on at the moment was probably the most activity. Ahead to either side of them was a normal minecart track with a platform on each, ready to take large loads to either one of the moving floors to their farther, immediate left and right. Each one went through a large opening in the wall that they could pass through if they rode the machine. Further from them was a series of large square sections of flat metal with little troughs of rock going through the centers of the squares. They led down to a great, jagged chasm whose contents were illuminating that part of the room very well without the need for the (broken) bar lights that they saw there. Above the troughs and tracing their paths from above was a hanging track, from which traveled suspended, odd structures of what appeared to be stone from their doorway standpoint. A track branched from the main track to hang over one of the cart tracks, one for each. At the junctions and various points along the hanging track were small hunks of metal whose purpose was a mystery to the outsiders. Directly above them was a solid metal-floored path that formed a wide catwalk around the room's second floor. On the walls at regular intervals were those lights from before, but one each this time. Some were, like the ones near the chasm, broken, revealing they were actually glass tubes with wires inside.

But all this was nothing when they found what was to their direct right.

Walking towards them, fizzing and sparking with electricity now and again, was a tall, jerky creature, which resembled an artist's wooden posing mannequin in shape. Instead of wood, it was made with smooth sheet metal (bearing many patches where wires, metal "bones", and other strange inner workings stuck out or were otherwise visible) and big hinges as elbows and knees and other joints. It clanked and squeaked along, faceless head jerking in odd directions as it moved, arm outstretched for them (and also failing to keep straight). Link and Samba instantly drew their swords, the human drawing his shield and the lizalfos ducking partly behind him. "What is THAT?" Link asked, keeping his eyes on it.

"It must be one of the monsters that Boroy mentioned!" Samba answered. Both had to raise their voices to be heard above the din.

"Anything else?" Link asked as it finally got there. It stopped and tried to swing a punch at them. It reeled back, then, in good right cross form, twisted its body section around halfway before jerking back for a split second, sort of "rewinding", then continuing the attack. Link blocked it with a grunt, being pushed back a little.

"I don't know," Samba confessed bluntly with a grimace.

"Thanks," Link said half-sarcastically. "Well, let's see if I can do anything at all!" He swung with the Master Sword and instantly regretted it. Not only did it bounce off the golem-like creature, but Link froze his position and jittered about a bit, a buzzing sound coming from the thin twigs of electricity covering his body before he was blown back into Samba, who yelped and turned his sword away before he accidentially stuck his partner through the belly.

"Well, you can get the world's hugest static shock," Samba grunted as Link got up off of him.

As the blue-scaled warrior stood, Link looked at the machine and said, "I'm going to just stay away from them for now," with a little uneasiness.

"Good plan," aggreed Samba, and they dashed off, going between the cart tracks and away from the creature. They found that other monsters inhabited the room as one slammed into Samba from the side. He grunted and got up for the second time in half a minute, growling as he looked around at what hit him. "Oh, great, YOU guys," he complained, narrowing his eyeridges more in annoyance than rage. "Trying to get a little revenge for the Empty Cavern, I see?"

"Huh?" Link turned to see him sidestepping a helmasaur as it charged once more. Samba spun about, slashing at its backside as it passed. Link took the idea and ran around the monster while it turned to face its attacker. He slashed twice at the exposed rear and the creature let out a high whine that was lost in the noise of the room as it fell. "Helmasaur, I think...What for, 'revenge'?" he asked, looking up again.

"Rargon played some kickball with them when there wasn't a ball to kick," Samba answered, smirking. Link, thinking about the difference in sizes, couldn't help but burst out in a bout of laughter.

They continued on and found three more helmasaurs and two more of those mechanical creatures, as well as a few bokoblins and a tall, dirty yellow-plated, statue-like creature--one on either side of the room--that, when they got close, turned its red, actually sullen-looking head/eye and fired a focused beam of light at them that was unblockable by their shields and very painful. "Those are Beamos, Link!" Samba scolded Link as he was struck by one and blown back (the lizalfos ducking this time). "You've never heard of them? ...Well, they're mechanical sentinels with the ability to fire thin beams of focused light or something from their big eye that burn painfully. Use explosive means to defeat them!"

"But we're knee-deep in goron territory and have yet to find a bomb," Link pointed out, getting up. "Notice that little cosmic joke yet?"

Samba raised an eyeridge. "No, but that's interesting, nonetheless," he said before hearing the sound of the beamos charging the laser, which was like a sucking in of electricity instead of air through one's lips. He trotted away to avoid the attack. "Let's leave them alone for now, too, and move on," he suggested, and Link agreed.

The place they found the beamos statue was relatively nearby the chasm. The edge of the chasm was jagged and irregular, as if it were widened by some violent force. It was also very broad; the other side was a fair bit too far for Samba to jump. Below them was a long pool of what appeared to be lava, but it could have been pure melted metal, since it appeared the troughs were built to safely drain excess down there. "But why waste the metal?" wondered Link to himself. Regardless, when they looked down there--heck, just being near there--they felt uncomfortable from the heat and pulled back. (They had already been feeling quite warm, even before they got near the chasm, since the hotness there was heating the air of the entire room like an oven. If it were not for Samba's reptillian heredity and Link's Goron Tunic, the duo would have been baked alive thanks to convection.)

Another thing they found near the chasm was a large central structure. It had four corners, two of which were precariously near the edge of the chasm, and at each was a tall support beam with a covered wire wrapped around it. These went upwards to a bundle of gears and belts high above in the center of the ceiling. Attatched to this main machine was a higher network of hanging track, this one thicker and carrying thick, dark metal buckets, each of which had a tapered spout for pouring. These buckets varied in size, but they were all pretty big, at least as big as themselves. Turning their attention back down to their floor, the pair noticed a very different floor within the four corners of the square formed by the supports.

It was split up into a 5x5 grid of metal tiles, a screw at the corner of each tile (except on the outside edges) and at least one deeply indented line on each square. All of the lines at least went to the center of the tile, but there were more unique tiles than repeats, with some having two lines in differently-turned "L"s, and some had three lines in "y"s, for instance. The tiles in the corners all had a line going into the corner posts, meeting the wire that curled up the support. Five of the tiles had large, geometric-shaped holes with a short rod pointing up in the center, and three large blocks, each using the area of a tile, with a chunk on the bottom in the same shape rested in different places around the grid.

Link assessed the situation in a heartbeat and knew that he was looking at a puzzle, and the smile of one willing to take on a challenge appeared on his face. Samba groaned and rolled his eyes and head when he saw this smile, then pushed Link (semi-gently), saying, "C'mon, let's see what we need to USE this for before you try and solve it."

Apart from this spectacle, there was also the other side of the chasm. The their-floor hanging track went over three molten rivers that must have served the troughs' purpose on that side. They also, when they got there, saw that there were ladders on the sides of the chamber. However, the ladder on one side was broken, and Samba couldn't jump from it to the piece above without more practice in those situations, he explained.

They shrugged at this and turned to the right to the door set right near the chasm, on the same side of the room as the broken ladder. Link opened it, ran through, and Samba followed as the door closed behind him, shutting the noise out behind them and letting them cool down a bit. "Oh, my ears," groaned Link, holding them for a moment. "Sweet relief..."

"Well," Samba said as they heard the clattering of something going across a hanging track to their left, "almost. We're just going to have to get used to it, I guess. I mean, hey, they don't call this place Clamor Plant for nothing, eh?" He tried to smile a little at this.

Link tried a smile back, then looked around. They were in a room with a large stairway to their left. It curled up and to the right around them. Behind a wall of bars that they could easily get projectiles through was the track guilty of the noise a moment before and then just this moment. Around the walls at about three-fourths Samba's jumping height were circular, white lights about the size of saucers that gave off less light than the bar lights before. They let off a quiet hum that they would only hear should they place their ears to them. Before them and underneath the second floor that the stairs went up to was a pair of doors, one in front of them and one on the right wall nearby it. They trotted over.

Suddenly, as they crossed the middle of the room, the sound of a blade sliding against metal to their left alerted them to a large, spiky, disklike, maroon-and-steel object hurtling at them from under the stairs. It slid across the floor in a straight line. Link was able to run at escape it, but Samba had to jump to avoid it, barely making it. The trap clanged against the wall before it began to draw back to where it was, going slower than it went out.

"Well, I wonder what use THAT serves the gorons," Link said sarcastically, turning and watching the thorny thing creep back underneath the stairs' shadow.

"That's a Spike Trap, which is, basically, nothing more than an enchanted hunk of metal," Samba identified, pointing at it. "Specifically, it's a 'seeing' one, as evidenced by the colored paint on it. It detects intruders in its path and shoots in a straight line at them." He smirked at Link. "Maybe it's a deterrent to keep anyone who can't curl up into a ball of rock out of whatever room's over there," the lizalfos joked, thumbing to the door behind them. They went over and examined it.

The use for the hole through the door button was revealed. A rod was currently in the hole, blocking the button from being pressed. And, to ensure the rod wasn't removed, it was part of a big padlock that hung on the door. "Great, it's locked," Link said, lifting up the lock. "We need to find one of those small keys."

"Why don't we start by looking over there?" suggested Samba, pointing to the other door. They went through it and found another noisy room. It wasn't as noisy as the other room before, but it was full of the trundling of the moving floor. One big moving floor snaked its way around the room, and on it was...well, nothing, at the moment. In front of them was a pathway wide enough to walk down, but a bit barely. Above them was a second floor part that, when they ran out and looked behind them and up at it, was a balcony.

"Hey, there are bars up there, too," Link noted, pointing at them.

"They're probably there to make sure whoever goes up there doesn't fall down and hurt the machinery," Samba chuckled.

"Yeah, but good luck getting up there to begin with, now," said a voice to their left, and they looked across the moving floor. There stood three gorons in a line, each looking pretty tired. They each held an apparatus in their big hands that consisted of a hose going into the wall, a metal tube at an angle, and a nozzle at the end. A short pillar with a button on it stood next to them on their left, whereas they held the device on their right. The goron in the middle appeared to be on a sort of special platform, since the floor beneath him was different--plain metal instead of the textured flooring--and there were walls on either side of him made of metal boards that formed a boxed "X" made of the same metal. His tool's hose appeared to be much longer and skinnier, as well. All three also wore a flat, rectangular, iron mask with a window for their eyes. These masks were being raised and looking up, sitting atop their wearers' heads. The goron on the right--the nearest--waved with his left hand. "It's great to see some new faces around, especially ones made of flesh instead of metal," he said, being the one who spoke before.

"Oh!" Link raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You're the gorons who are stuck here!" He jumped onto the moving floor and trotted across, moving to the other side of the goron. Samba chose to remain behind.

"Eh? Yeah, we're some of the gorons stuck here," the goron said, nodding. "What, you guys here to rescue us?" Link nodded. The goron chuckled. "Well, that's nice, but if we gorons need rescuing, it's a pretty bleak situation. I doubt there's much a hylian and a lizalfos--an interesting combination--can do."

Link shook his head. "We're going to try," he said.

"You're gonna try?" the goron reiterated, raising an eyebrow. He smiled and nodded. "Thank you, brothers. If you can, try and get up onto the second floor, there. There should be a big red button that will shut off these conveyer belts."

"Conveyer belts?" Samba asked. He looked at the moving floors. The floor, split into strips of what appeared to be black canvas-covered metal or rock or even wood, moved along. "Is that what these are called?"

The goron nodded. "Yes. They carry large works around this room and another room nearby," he explained. "Now, though, they're under control of the mechanical creatures around here."

Samba furrowed his brow. "Any idea what those creatures are?" he asked.

"Yes, actually," the goron replied, raising an eyebrow. "But shouldn't a smart monster like you know about mechanoids?" He crossed his arms.

Samba sighed and held his paws up in defeat. "I do, but my memory's foggy about when I learned about them," he answered. "Those mannequin-like things seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite recall what they are."

"Well, try harder, brother," the goron told him.

Link got back over to Samba and beckoned. "C'mon, let's see if we can get up there," he said, and they jogged around the corner of the conveyer belt and across a gap between the belt and a stairs of metal that went up to the balcony above the door. It started on the right (from when they entered the room). They instantly saw why they couldn't get up, though.

Right in the floor in front of the stairs was an odd, round, stout machine that popped up and began to spin blades and strips of spikes around its middle that, along with a high wall of fire that shot up powerfully on either side of it, prevented the two from getting across safely. The top was flat, they noticed, and Link had the urge to push it back into the floor. They could do nothing, however, so they returned to the goron. When they did, the machine retracted its weaponry, stopped the fire walls, and plopped back into the floor from whence it came.

"See? You'd need to slam that thing back into the ground somehow," he said. "However, you'd need the strength of a goron to do it--it's just too stiff for you two, brothers!"

"Well, why can't you just get up onto the conveyer belts and walk across? Are you too heavy?" Link asked. He looked around. "I don't see how else you could get here..."

The goron nodded. "That's what we do," he answered. "And we COULD just walk across and get onto the other side, but what's the use? The door out to the foyer is barred shut from the other side and going the long way would be suicide. We can't roll around inside the foundry, especially in the pouring room, that huge, noisy place you two must have went through to get here. Without rolling, though, we're too slow to avoid the monsters and traps, not to mention our own machinery, like the sand molds we pour metal into."

"So THAT'S what those are," Link and Samba muttered.

"Not only that, but we're not the only ones in here," the goron continued. "There's two more of us in here and quite a few more of us in the smithery, behind that locked door you saw back in the stairwell. We can't leave without them!"

Link nodded. "We'll find a way to get to them," he said. "We're here to help you, trust me."

"Thank you, brothers," the goron said. "I wish there was more I could do, but I suppose all I can do is wish you luck."

Link thanked him and got back on the other side of the conveyer belt before the two moved out of the room. They ran parallel to each other and the trap's starting position so that they both got on the other side before it got them (although Samba had to yank his tail back). Then, they traveled up the stairs. It went to the right, then the left before getting up on the second floor. Only one door was there, a door to the balcony. Link entered and found an interesting sight.

Counters of levers, lights, and buttons were on the balcony, as were a number of strange, large switches and other devices. Link looked around and found the remains of one of the counters, and among the debris, he found a big red button. He frowned, then shouted through the bars, "The conveyer belt button is broken!"

"Great, they want this thing moving, then," the goron called back. "Thanks, though. Don't worry; if we ever get out of this nightmare, we'll fix it up!"

Seeing nothing else of interest, apart from a second level of twisting conveyer belts on that floor, they exited and went downstairs again. "Link, I think I have an idea," Samba said. "About those mechanical, mannequin-like things. Let me fight them, alright?" he asked.

Link nodded. "Alright, we'll see," he said, and transfered Nayru's Ring to Samba.

Samba, now the leader, led Link out to the pouring room. He ran until he found one of the robots and confronted it. "Link, try your boomerang," Samba said, dodging an attack.

"But it's made of metal! What's it gonna do to it?" Link asked.

"It's a machine! The force might knock something loose for a moment!" Samba said, and Link obliged. To their delight, the mechanoid stopped entirely, the electricity ceasing to spark from its exposed wiring for a moment. Samba quickly executed a four-attack combo, ending with a pair of kicks. His sword bounced off, but he kept going anyway. He resisted hopping in pain from the hard target as the twitchy robot moved again.

Samba had Link hit it with a boomerang strike again, then attacked once more. However, before Link could hit it again, Samba pointed and shouted about fire keese coming at him and to watch out for the--He stopped when Link, hearing about the keese, instantly drew his sword and executed a spin attack, nailing the bats...and the mechanoid behind him. The manniquin was obviously damaged, reeling away, and Link hadn't gotten electrocuted! "Spin attacks work against them!" Samba deduced. "I don't know what makes them so special, though..." (Link, hearing this, looked over his shoulder for a moment, having an idea about the answer, but decided to focus on the fight.)

With this discovery, the bipedal lizard turned and used a spin attack on the mannequin before ending with a reverse hook kick, using his momentum and ability to land formidable kicks together to form an attack Link was unable to do for all his swordsmanship. The machine stood back, head and limbs quirking around a bit before it exploded somewhat and began to fall over. It disappeared before it fell, and Samba smirked victoriously, also mentally relishing the realization he could do something in fighting that Link couldn't (launching an effective attack directly after a spin attack, which normally needs time afterwards to deal with the momentum). "Link, let's do some housecleaning, huh?" he asked, turning around. The red-tuniced warrior was gone.

Link was currently running away from a Beamos while holding something above his head. He got out of range and breathed a sigh of relief before stopping by Samba. He showed him his cargo, a big triangle of red crystal that looked a familiar size. "Agreed," he said.

So, they decided to go and find those triangles from the decoration in the foyer. They found that the first robot thing they had met was carrying one, and they found the last one in another corner of the room, this time carried by an armored bokoblin. While doing this, they noticed that there was a ladder on both sides of the room on this end, too. These ladders, by the way, were actually rungs stuck in the wall, and it appeared the one on the right (when they first entered the room) was now connected to wires. Electricity ran through it visibly, meaning it was unclimbable for now. They decided to forget about this for the moment and went back into the foyer, Samba carrying two by using his tail again. He went slower from the effort used to keep his tail wrapped around an object securely, since the appendage wasn't the most prehensile in the world. He opened the door by pushing the button with his foot and went through with Link.

They inserted the red gems into their original homes. When finished, they stood back and admired the symmetry. Then, suddenly, they heard a click. They turned and saw the bars keeping the door on the left of the room (left from when they entered originally) slide into the wall. "It's open!" Link said. "What a strange reason to close that door." He crossed his arms. "I thought that it'd spawn a chest or something, frankly," he murmured.

"But why not just go through on the conveyer belt in the other room?" Samba asked. He gave the Master Sword back to Link, teleporting Nayru's Ring back, since he wanted him in front to assess the situation faster than he could (and to block anything coming at them with the Hylian Shield).

"You didn't notice when we were near there?" Link asked, looking at him as they walked to the door. "It LOOKED like we could go through the gap, but I saw some needles with electricity on either side of the gap. You'd get zapped by them, I'm sure of it, if you tried to go in."

"Huh." Samba followed him as they went into the next room. He widened his eyes as he saw the contents. "I bet it's to make sure those things don't accidentially start work on someONE rather than someTHING," he guessed.

Before them was the conveyer belt they spoke of snaking its way around the room, perhaps like in the room they were just in. It came forwards from the pouring room and was turing a hard 90-degree right right in front of them. A short ways down, it went through a large, square archway with many red bands painted on with some more foreign doohickies on the sides. Going straight through the center of the top was a proportionately stout pillar with a broad, thick disk on the bottom end. It resembled a many-times-magnified version of a flat nailhead. Rods and other objects of machinery attatched it to the rest of the arch and moved it. It rose up until the top of the disk touched the ceiling of the arch with a somewhat loud clang, then, with a much louder WHAM! sound, slammed down to crush whatever would be below it. Every time it dropped, a hiss of steam erupted out of a pipe on the top right corner of the arch.

Apart from that, there wasn't that much else of particular interest in comparison. They could get around the left of the arch safely, walking through another one of those strange open boxes that the middle goron from before had stood in. A black line in a circle was straight ahead of them on the far wall, casting a shadow on the metal from the ceiling lighting, which was in the style used in the foyer. Overhead was the bottom of what they saw to be another conveyer belt. For some reason, it was unsupported--the conveyer belts below it were probably the reason. It must have had some reinforced bottoms and used the walls whenever possible, as far as Link could tell. In fact, it must have used the wall of a platform to their left above them. Above them, they could see a network of those conveyer belts, some obviously broken. Some of them stopped very short of going out of sight, indicating that the belts must have looped around beneath the rollers and between those and the flooring. 'I thought I saw movement under those things in the first room, but the lighting cast it in shadow,' Link mused. They saw another conveyer belt right of the arch and beyond it, going upwards in a ramp. "This looks like a very complicated room," Link observed aloud. "I hope that we don't have to figure out something too big in here..." He trailed off.

"What?" Samba asked, raising an eyeridge and putting his paws on his hips, a smirk on his face. "I thought you liked those kinds of things."

"Well," Link said, turning his head to look at him, "I generally do, but we could get seriously injured here. Besides, this place is a foundry built for and used by the gorons," he added, holding an arm out and looking back at the room. "If we DO run into problems, we'll have our work cut out for us since it probably has something to do with things that the gorons, not we, would know how to deal with."

Samba leaned out from behind Link and looked at his friend's face, which was calm and looking ahead, then at what exactly was ahead and saw the crushing machine, and finally back at Link. "You're scared you'll get smashed by that thing, aren't you?" he asked.

"And you aren't?" Link asked back, giving an uneasy chuckle.

"No, I am, but I'm sure we'll figure out a way around it," Samba said, crossing his arms. "Well, come on, we're wasting time just standing around."

"That we are," Link agreed, and they went around to get past the machine. They noticed, to their annoyance, a beamos right against the wall and facing another right turn in the conveyer was ahead of them. "I have a feeling that these ordeals go a lot quicker without all of this dialouge..."

"...Link, we going to try and run past that thing? Because if we are going right up by it, my dash should escape its beam, but you'd need to hide to do that," Samba informed him, pointing at the beamos.

"I was thinking of getting onto the conveyer and running along it, but that'll work if we need it," Link replied, raising an eyebrow. He hopped up onto the conveyer after walking past the noisy machine on their right and began running, speed enhanced while going with the direction of the belt.

Following after, Samba smirked again and pointed out, "But there are times when things go smoother because of it." They approached the beamos and both made a short hop across the corner and past the range of attack. As the laser beam traveled across the belt, it burnt a black line and produced a mite more smoke than when it struck metal. The range didn't go much past the turn, thankfully.

Landing, Link grunted and replied, "Okay, that's true, but it's the small talk that can happen, I should've said." Having turned a corner in the hall-like room, they found a new set of factors to consider and hopped off the conveyers on the right.

They had been going the same direction as before, since the belt took a left right after the right, and that went forwards towards another hole in the wall. That wouldn't just involve a shock, but there was a large buildup of stuff on the other side, blocking their progress. This belt was now on their left. Behind them was a forwards-moving belt going along in the direction it would have gone should the left turn not existed. It soon went to another branch, the belt being to their right. Also to their right was another beamos, this one a bit away from the corner but still in this section of the room that made another left farther on. They saw two more arches, one right after the other, on the main belt. The first, banded with yellow, was right after the left turn the belt took and fully in their sight from their position. The other was partially seen, and it appeared to have blue bands. It was unsure what function these machines did, since their tops were thick and likely contained all of the workings. Farther behind Link and Samba was the other belt, which came down from a ramp going up to the wall above, for some reason. To the left above was a belt whose direction was undiscernable from here. Link wondered this; wouldn't whatever they were working on be damaged by the fall or suddenly tumble and THEN be damaged if it fell onto the ramp? He shook his head, not worrying for now.

In front of them as they faced the wall was the full view of what that circle, now to their left, was. What was unmistakably a spring of thick, round wire, coiled into a perfect column of winding metal, stuck out perpendicular to the wall. A covered wire, as they presumed it to be, ran up the wall from where it ended and into the ceiling. They also noticed a blue glass ball with wire in it--an unlit electric light, Link assumed--on the wall very near the coil. Also, above them, there was a giant hinge in line with the coil attached to the bottom of the upper conveyer. A second hinge in the upper conveyer was lined up with the other coil, the "black circle" they had seen before. (It, too, had a blue, unlit light nearby.) "Interesting," Link muttered.

"That it is, but we have to get past that beamos," Samba said, pointing at the statue with the round, rotating eye for a head. "Should we do that dash technique I came up with?"

"Sure," Link said, and, as practiced, teleported both rings to Samba's finger, causing him to hide. In other words, he switched and hid, a term that shall be used for ease from now on when one does this.

Samba nodded and hopped onto the conveyer again. He turned to face down the next turn of the hallway, sidehopped over the (second) early left turn of the conveyer, and landed smack dab in front of the beamos, looking at it right in the eye. Quickly, and with thanks that there was a path wide enough between the wall and the machines, he dashed away from the beamos right as it fired the beam at his spot. He zipped right by and was behind the corner and out of range within two steps. He skidded to a halt, turned, and barked a laugh at the machine. Turning, he took a look at what ended up to be the final portion of the room.

The second archway machine in that section was directly to his right, now, and he saw a fourth and final ahead, the smallest yet. The path of the main conveyer made no more turns, since what appeared to be pivotable bars with an abacus-like array on them that blocked the progress of any product from going one way to slide another made these decisions, now. One was at the corner of the third branching conveyer, now going in a top-left-to-bottom-right diagonal across the belt (when looking at it in the direction the belt traveled). A covered triangle brace spanned the other corner, lined with ball bearings to allow the product to slide over with minimal friction from the belt. 'That'd explain the counting beads on the bars,' Samba noted, using the best translation he had. The next one, behind the final, green-banded machine, wasn't easy to see. To get to a better view, he decided to kill two birds with one stone, noticing the other side of the section of belt the branch went from was occupied by a third (and hopefully final) beamos. He took a (normal-speed) running leap over the belt in front of him and went past the fourth branch-off belt, then stopped and turned to his right. The beamos never had a glance.

The second bar was in the center of the main belt's path and had a pair of shorter bars, forming a "Y". It could point one way or the other and ensure each way was safe for the cargo. Two ball bearing-bearing triangle braces were present to account for the new direction, as well. If the person working there wanted whatever they were making to go right, it would go right, then be carried hard left, forwards, left again, and up a ramp to the second level above. "Is it necessary to be this complicated?" muttered Samba, looking up at the new network of second-floor belts. He looked in the nook formed by the "U" of belts in front of him to find another different floor.

Smaller than the one in the pouring room, it was also much different. On each but one of the tiles in the 4x5 patch was a coil like before or a small block that allowed multiple ones to go out. None of the coils could touch each other, even the ones aligned with one another. If this was a form of channeling electricity, it was a way foreign to Samba, and more than normal. All he knew was that metal conducts electricity from Link's experience earlier. There were other details to the setup that Samba didn't bother to pay attention to for now, muttering about how he'll worry about it later. He turned around and faced another door, mercifully open. He pushed the button, ran through, and let Link out after it closed behind him. "I was about to let you out back there," he told him, "but I'd've had to've dragged you away from what's obviously another potential puzzle."

Link pouted at him before turning to look ahead again. A much quieter room faced them. (Yes, another lengthy, and probably confusing, description awaits. You have only this storyteller to blame for it, seeing as he picked a story featuring an area with a great amount of activity going on in each of the rooms to tell as best as he can. Humblest apologies.)

This room was almost perfectly rectangular; the only thing keeping it so is one first-floor corner directly across from them that had a barred door on the wall they faced. This door was seen behind a couple crates, one taller than the other. Samba noted that he could jump up to the shorter, but then he couldn't jump over the taller. It appeared they were bound to one another. Behind it lay a minecart track, on which ran a small machine that resembled a chariot without horse, sides, and wheels big enough to go off the ground. Instead, the wheels were on the track, enabling the machine to move forth and back, pushing along a metal platform with a small roaring sound that sounded like "rrrrr". It faced their left, since the platform was on the left of it to their perspective. It sometimes went off the track on the right, as they saw after moving to look beside it, but it had no problem since it went perfectly straight back on. This platform appeared big enough to carry the crate bundle, and on its sides were four wide strips of metal that scraped the ground as they formed ramps, which would let the crate be pushed on after the machine pulled the platform to the right (if it hit the end on the left, it would stop before the platform went off the rails and pull it back shortly).

"That pushing machine actually kinda looks cute, compared to the other ones we've seen," Link said, pointing at it with a chuckle and smile.

"Yeah, compared," agreed Samba. They looked around and found more. Another track went in front of them, carrying another small machine that faced the other way and carried another platform. Farther away was a crate that was about as tall as the one Samba could jump to nearer to them. Next to it was a larger pile of crates, some tall enough for Samba to get to. Far down from the closest track to them and to their left was a crate too tall for Samba (around which was another track that was hidden by the central pile) and farther away was a very wide one he could get to. In the parts of the room where the branches (from the conveyer in the last room) led to were large, sloped trays in the floor. They went around the room and took up, from what they could see, the same amount of space, though the one behind the too-tall crate might be shorter than normal. They couldn't tell from there that well, though, since it appeared that sheet metal and other objects piled up high in each one, forming relatively flat tops. The one farthest, probably since it's the first one met on the belt, had the highest, which Samba could get to. They went down from there the farther down the conveyer they went: the one left of the tallest was second-tallest; the farthest from them on the side they entered through was a bit smaller, almost Link-able, and the one right next to them was the smallest, the most attainable by Link.

They could tell there was MUCH more in this room for them to examine by sounds and motions of different things inside. They found a few bokoblins walking around and standing on crates and on top of the room in the corner, oblivious to them as long as they didn't stray far from their spot at the entrance, a helmasaur's squeaking roars were heard in one far corner, and, after they took another step farther in, a whirring sound that resembled a small blade cutting the air constantly and quickly told them a new enemy was approaching.

Hanging from the ceiling were a few odd machines of small stature. They had two wide, but small, white, interestingly-shaped blades with flat points and a rounded edge that came from a white-colored cube, from which protruded a black glass circle with a black rim. A "foot" resembling a much smaller version of the crusher piston before was hidden behind their blades, somehow attatching them to the metal ceiling. They removed this and opened their blades, dropping, as they noticed Link and Samba. Right after they retracted this "foot" into the cube, they half-rolled, set their blades so that the blunt side faced them on the left and the blade on the right, and began quickly spinning them. They slowed their descent afterwards, somehow flying from the white disk formed around them. Using this and adjusting the pitch of the disk, they came down to in front of Link and Samba. Instead of going to attack, though, they hung and circled around them, keeping the black glass trained on them.

"Those black circles are like eyes..." Samba muttered. "They're watching us!"

"It doesn't look like they mean harm, though," Link muttered.

Samba kept an eye on them while they walked past to see more of the room. The hovering things were quick, but they moved slowly away from him while he went past. If he didn't walk, he probably would have come into painful contact with the spinning blades of one. It wasn't too much longer until Link yelped in surprised pain. "Run into one?" Samba asked, turning.

Link growled, drawing Betta's sword and his Hylian shield. "No, they took a two-pronged fork and stuck me with it," he answered, "and I got shocked!" He slashed at the machine and, seeing that he wasn't getting hurt, did it again, defeating it. "They're like keese, kinda..."

Samba yipped comically when he felt a painful shock in the back of his neck and turned, jumping and kicking away two of them at once. They were destroyed instantly from the rapid, blunt force of his big footpaw and he landed, grumpy frown on his face. "Just as annoying, that's for sure," he said.

They dealt with the creatures, of which remained four, and turned to face the other enemies. After defeating the last of four bokoblins (one normal and one armored acting as snipers and two on the ground, with the ground ones in the other far corner while the normal sniper stood wedged on the top of the corner room (you'll see why "wedged" in a bit) and the armored standing on top of the long crate mentioned before), they looked around the other section of the room.

Behind the long crate was a smaller one of equal height, next to which was a same-size but much taller metal crate. (The others were plain wood, a nice change of pace.) The track that went around the too-tall stack in the corner opposite the corner room made an "L", and had a platform-pushing machine, this one on the end facing the wall to the right (they currently faced the wall they came in from). Samba looked around and noted there were also some switches, but he couldn't see that well. So, he jumped up onto the long crate to get a better view.

Now on the second floor, he could see there were many things on top the corner room, like how people place things on top of free-standing cabinets. The roof of that room was about the height of the box he stood atop at the moment. He noticed a broad but semi-skinny crate, probably full of sheet metal, in the middle that discouraged him from jumping to the rightpaw section of the room/shelf when facing it. It was against a more square crate that made a niche on the left. There was a thin gap between the crate and the wall, but he would have to be as slim as a fish to fit inside. In this niche was a peculiar, box-like object that looked to be inside a hole in the roof below. "I think that might be a sort of switch," Samba added after describing it to Link, who could only see a little of it from the floor. He looked back to the roof and looked on the right of the separating crate.

Another crate was partly off the corner of the room, being the last on there. All of the crates were too tall to jump for him, nearly touching the ceiling. A bit farther from that was a circular cage around a sheet metal wall, the vertical bars and the sheet metal going into the ceiling. The horizontal bars actually didn't go the entire way around. Instead, they curved out from the wall in big "U"s. The place in the wall they went to had grooves the bars were at one end of, suggesting they were two sets of separating bars that came together or apart. "Well, well, well," Samba said, smirking, "I think I see where their maximum security cargo goes." He described the device to Link, who raised his eyebrows and let out a chuckle.

He looked about and noticed a couple of crystal switches, one coming from the wall and a bit above the his-level crate to his left and one on the ceiling above the right wall (when facing the entrance wall) end of the track, this one sticking from a pole with lines on it that appeared similar to the lines Samba noticed on the rods of the mechanical keese's "feet". They reminded him of his fishing pole, which screwed apart and together, but he thought for a moment. "Who's to say that you can't have the sections be hollow tubes that slide into one another...?" he muttered a little loudly, chin in paw.

"What do you mean?" asked Link, hearing him.

"Huh? Oh, I'm wondering a new way to make a collapsable pole," he answered aloud, not completely lying but choosing something else to answer with.

"Well, I remember seeing my grandfather taking a thing that was made of a couple of tubes that slid into each other outside to look at the stars, sometimes," Link recollected. "He never let me touch it--he still doesn't, actually--and he called it a telescope."

"Telescope? ...Oh!" Samba put his fist in his paw. "Yeah! Ko has something like that! He says they're hard to make, since you must align and size things perfectly. Thus, they're expensive." He pointed at the ceiling switch. "That thing must be like a telescope...telescopic, I guess you could say," he described.

"Is it me," Link asked, hooding his eyes to sheild from the bright tube lights spaced about in the ceiling as he gazed up at the switch, "or is that thing black inside?"

"The one behind me is, too," Samba said. "I wonder..." He looked left at the roof, curiosity piqued now that he had entered the rarely-explored but larger-than-normal part of his mind focused on problem-solving, which he had used when engineering his fishing pole. He jumped over to the box switch and landed on it. When his weight settled on it, it entered the roof with a dull click and they suddenly heard the soft sound of a chest appearing. It came from the miniature high-security prison cell on the roof. "You hear that?" Samba asked.

"Yeah, I did!" Link answered. As well, he had heard the sound of the telescopic pole extending, making the switch level enough with the second floor that he could hit it with his sword if he got up there. Its contents also brightened to grey, like a normal switch. "The switches are active, now, too," he added.

"Really? Let me see! I can't from here very well," Samba said, and he jumped back to the crate. As soon as he left the switch, however, it came up again. A FFFFFT! sound came from the hollows of the metal cage, the switches went black, and the pole went up again. Samba blinked as this all happened, then cocked his head and went, "...Reh?"

"You've got to have someone or something on the switch at all times, I think," Link said. "Get back on it."

"Well, this is going to be annoying..." Samba grumbled, crossing his arms. Then he snapped his claws. "Wait! Just hide, then I'll release you here. You should be able to jump across to the other side of the roof there and shoot the switches from here, as well. There might be a third nearer to the door that I couldn't see. Then, we can get the chest like that," he finished, snapping his claws again, a triumphant smile on his face.

Link smiled and nodded. "Good plan! Alright, let me hide," he said, and he held his hand up. A few seconds passed, then he lowered it to him again.

"What's wrong? Think of something?" Samba asked, looking over the side of the crate.

"It's not working," he said, holding up his ring. "My Ring of Dualty won't let me hide!"

Samba gasped in horror, then looked at his. He focused, but found he couldn't send his ring to Link. He swore in lizalfos, Link noticing he couldn't understand him, this time. Samba then tried sending the Master Sword over. THAT, thankfully, worked. He cocked his head quizzically. "Well, at least that works," he said, beckoning for the sword again. "That was just a test, you'll have it in a bit."

Link nodded, knowing that they agreed to give the sword to whoever was to take the initiative while the other followed behind or whatever the leader ordered. (That wasn't steadfast, however, for him; his inquisitive, experimental mind sometimes caused him to try things anyway, such as getting the first emblem piece back in the pouring room.) "These rings are way too powerful to be dead," he said. "Besides, mine's still brighter than what an emerald should probably be," he added.

"And mine's more than any ruby," Samba reported.

"I think there's something with this room that is disrupting our ability to hide in the rings, but, thankfully, not coming out," Link said. "We'll have to ask someone who knows about them later."

"Right." Samba sighed aggrivatedly, looking about. He noticed another bundled crate on the floor in front of the tallest conveyer-fed stack, this one like the one they first saw but turned 90 degrees clockwise so the unscalable part was facing the corner room. Now that he thought about it, standing on a crate he had to jump-grab, the shorter crate on it could be used as a stepping stone for Link from a platform he could climb to a platform he couldn't. "Link, I think I have an idea."

"Push those solitary crate bunches and that single crate onto these platforms on the tracks, then use the topography to reach the switches and ultimately the other side of the roof while you sit and wiggle your toes on the switch?" Link guessed, smirking.

Samba raised his eyeridges at this before narrowing them, crossing his arms, and pouting. He grumbled, "Yas, thanks for stealing my thunder."

"You've been having too many clever moments in the past hour," Link joked, grinning. "Sorry, really. I started to figure it out after I realized my ring wasn't working." He rubbed his hands together. "This is actually going to be a little fun, I think, and a good leg exercise." He walked forwards and pushed against the crate, which did budge and slid forwards slowly.

"I'll admit, you've yet to face a jumping challenge," Samba said, hopping back, switching leaders, and, as suggested, sitting on the switch. Not in the mood to fiddle with his big feet--especially with how dirty they've gotten with all of this running around--he got out his guitar and started strumming aimlessly. As he did, he slowly realized he was playing along to a melody that he'd actually been hearing, in different volumes and instruments, all around him from the clanging and other noises. 'A symphony...That guy Boroy was talking about was right...' While the full song was quite busy with the metal sounds, the melody was sort of slow and unsettling (as dungeon music should be, if a little faster than most).

'He usually gets them all,' Link mused, feeling a little happy that he could finally do some jumping, himself. 'But I bet there are things I can do that he cannot, and just as many times.' He waited for the platform to come back, then started pushing the load on. The robot stopped after it sensed a load coming on. As soon as it was entirely on, it made a happy whirring sound as the platform's sides folded up to form short walls. After locking together with a CLICK, the pushing machine resumed its rounds. Link went back to the other two tracks, standing inbetween them so as not to get hit, and found he could push either object--the single crate or the crate similar to the one he just pushed--onto the platform handled by the first of the pushing machines they noticed. He looked at the single crate and noticed that it was on a small platform that was about the height of the tracks. 'I bet I can push that one over the tracks and onto the other side,' he thought. 'Besides...' He looked at the bundled stack, noticing the unpassable side, and then to the other track. '...it would be kinda hard to jump from that one to the plain one if the direction I'm going has a big box in the way.'

So, he pushed the other bundle onto the track-borne platform closest to the room-within-the-room, then, waiting for the now-mobile stack to pass before going over the tracks with it, pushed the single crate across to the platform waiting behind the big stack of containers in the center. It wasn't entirely on yet, and the platform-pushing machine patiently waited until it sensed the load was centered on the platform (Link theorized that the platform pressed down on some buttons underneath it that told it so). After pushing it onto the bot, Link stood and watched the creation of his final moving platform before Samba, watching when he could, told him to Get out of the way, stupid! WHAM! The robot slammed into Link, blowing him to his left, seeing as he wasn't entirely centered with the crate before, and forwards a bit with the great weight. Samba facepalmed while Link grunted and got up, the little chariot robot making a beeping sound, one akin to a goose or a duck honking, using a small horn stowed inside it somewhere.

Now that the stage was set, Link brushed himself off and faced the first of the built-up stacks. He jumped up onto it, pulling up, and trotted around the edge of the room. He hopped onto the slightly-taller one, then jumped the corner slightly as he got to the next, and finally got onto the tallest one. Once there, he jumped down to the first moving platform he'd made as soon as it came. While it rested, he got out his sword and vertically slashed at the switch. It turned light blue, and he hoped it would stay that way.

When it did, both heard a sound. They couldn't see it from the crates, but the horizontal bars separated and slid apart, confirming Samba's theory. A grinding of gears was heard while they went, with a dull thump as they stopped.

Link then kept his footing whilst the platform transported him. He went around the tall stack, the bundled crates turning around with the bend. Thus, he was able to jump to the single crate that was conveniently right there for him when he got there. He quickly jumped over before it left and hung on. He was about to jump over to the next one when he noticed an eye switch in a niche in the wall that had been covered by a shutter before. "That would explain the sliding sound I thought I heard before," he muttered, getting his bow and firing at it once he got into range. The arrow struck it and another mechanical groaning sounded. The vertical bars slid up into the ceiling. Another thump was heard as they stopped, lifting three-fourths into the gorons knew where.

Jumping over to the third platform he made, he waited until he could do a somewhat tricky jump. Since there was an obstacle to his right while he faced the middle stack, he had to go off the edge at an angle to catch the edge of the next crate that he could get to in the middle stack. He looked around briefly after getting safely onto the container that he barely couldn't reach from the floor. A smaller but taller, second-floor height crate stuck out from the too-tall cargo that made the rest of the pile. It was around a corner made by those boxes, and Link had little room, so he had to jump diagonally from corner to corner, catching the edge with his left (and, thankfully, dominant) hand and barely hanging on. Samba grinned at this and half-roared, "Rauaah!" cheeringly after Link got onto the box.

Link made his final jump to the long crate, catching the edge again (but more comfortably this time). He pulled himself up and struck the final switch. Turning, he saw the (thicker than normal) sheet metal lift into the ceiling, going all the way and making a scraping sound as it slid up into the metal sky above. And there, as Samba had thought, was a large chest.

Link whooped and punched the air in victory. "We did it, Samba!" he cried joyfully. "Lemme get to the chest!" He trotted over and did a final corner jump and grabbed the edge at an angle again. He pulled up and trotted to the chest. He opened it up and reached in.

Samba was standing and putting his guitar away when he heard Link go, "Huh?" "May I get off the switch?" he asked.

A couple footsteps--Link stepped away from the range of the metal walls and bars that might come shooting back if stopping the switch made everything reset. "Alright."

Samba made a slow "V" as he went to the crate and then to the roof again. Nothing happened since the chest was opened and the bindings were dispelled, despite the switch popping up again. He walked over to see what Link had in his hands. It was a compass. Raising his right eyeridge and lowering his left slightly, Samba asked flatly, "Well, how's THAT gonna help if we don't have a map of this place?"

Link frowned in thought, looking at the spinning needle. "...Wait," he said quietly, jerking his head up as a thought came. He rummaged in his bag before drawing out the map of Hyrule he had found. Handing the compass to Samba, he opened it up and looked at it, blocking his view of his starting comrade. "...Nope, nothing here," he said.

"Wait!!" Samba stopped him, holding a paw out. "The back!"

Link turned it around and gasped. "That's clever," he said, turning the map so that it was parallel to the floor and open for both to view. He went to the side a bit as he let Samba come beside him, and each held an end of the map as they looked at it.

Lines of gentle light, colored black, traced two rectangles, one on top the other, and a couple Hylian runes formed in the upper right corner, indicating the top was the first floor and the bottom was the second. In green and black light, it traced the rooms they have already entered, but only the outlines of the platforms. The room they were in was brighter and the outline of the room itself was traced in dark purple for some reason. In yellow light, it showed the locations of chests, most of them hanging in spots out in nowhere. A red arrow indicated the point each had entered the floor they were on--an edge of the crate--pointing the direction they faced. Samba's was more faded than Link's. Also, both had yellow arrows that indicated where they were, like normal, but Link's arrow had a blue dot above a green dot, the blue one being more towards the point, and Samba's had a red dot.

Samba held up the compass in his free paw and looked at it. "It must be responding to the Rings of Dualty," he said.

"It has to--otherwise, why would it be picking up the colors of the rings we're holding?" Link asked. They looked and saw that a chest was in an area over the foyer door of the pouring room, they estimated. Link pointed to it on the map, hand and finger partially lost in the light as it faintly shone onto his body, almost as if it were being projected from above. "Let's head there," he suggested. "It might be a key or, better yet, the map."

"Roger." Samba let Link fold the map again before crossing his arms. "It's going to be a bit annoying, unfolding that unweildy map each time we need to get our bearings," he grumbled a little.

"Well," Link said, looking at his hands, front and back, "it doesn't look like it's being projected onto my hands or your paws." He let it fall as he took the compass from Samba's paw. It went into his pack, next to the one he kept from the Forest of Peril.

Samba lifted his right paw to look at his ring. "One can wish," he said wistfully, then he let out a surprised, "RAH!" as something flashed into existance from his ring.

Link looked over and raised his eyebrows. The arrows appeared, but not the map, above Samba's paw. "I stand corrected," he said. "It looks like it's only this room, though."

"Still dead useful," Samba said, letting it fall. He beckoned with his arm. "C'mon, we've got a long way to go, yet," he said with a little reluctance.

"Right, right." Link hopped down and rolled on the floor below, going past the tracks. Samba leaped down and landed in the same spot, restricting himself to leap only as far as Link for now if he didn't need to jump farther. Then, the lizalfos followed behind Link as the two exited the room.

"Hey, you think that we have to do something else to open that other door?" asked Samba as they reentered the noisy conveyer room.

Link, absentmindedly hearing the same melody Samba heard, shrugged. He answered, "It might never open, for all we know. Maybe only a goron can unlock it."

Together, they ran out the room and back into the foyer. Thankfully, the door remained unbarred behind them, since the emblem was still fine. They took a short breather, readying themselves for the noise, before going back into the room that gave them the complete cacaphony symphony.

- - -

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS -- OPTIONAL READING

Yeah, guys, this one's going to take helluva longer than the other dungeons. I'm sorry, and you can blame me for insisting on heavy description. However, as I said at some point before they entered the room with the compass, there's a LOT going on in this dungeon. I pray to dear God that this is the LAST dungeon (at least for a while) with this much stuff to describe. (The conveyer room with the machines and beamos was tedious as all get out, both to write and to read.) It's hell on wheels already without the other little tidbits that I've yet to describe. I'll probably forget to describe some parts and redescribe others, but a once-over after I'm finished ought to fix that. (Which, after I did it, didn't that much, because I'm lazy and there's too damn much info and excess.) But this, kids, is probably why you've yet to see a ton of Zelda dungeons that are supposed to believably function as true structures. (I doubt much of the Goron Mines was built that way on purpose by the gorons, no offense to anyone. If someone can prove me wrong, though, I'll hand it to the Zelda masters for creating a dungeon that has few PITA-to-describe rooms, yet be logical as a mine.)

This is going to be done in multiple parts, but you'll be happy for it with how big it'll be (at least, I HOPE...). I predict at least three total, minus the boss fight. (Speaking of that, I'm thinking of doing something after this dungeon that will spur some omakes, like the omakes I'm now putting at the end of my chapters in Kingdom Hearts: Puzzle of Truth, for those who are so nice to read that one. I assure you, by the way, this fiction won't have any side stories you'll have to read this one to read and understand fully!)

...Also, VERY sorry for how boring this place has been, what with the serious lack of solved puzzles in six (yes, there's only been that many, which includes multi-floor ones) rooms! n.n; I'll try harder now.

Notes on liberties taken this time around:

-The rings providing the minimap. Yeah, it's kinda corny, but it both explains the minimap and will be easier on our heroes. They can dismiss it at any time they want.

-The way they can get the map without the map.

-I'll be providing another liberty next chapter related to the compass.

Thank you for reading and reviewing, everyone! I'm very flattered by some of your comments and am inspired to write as best as I can! n.n


	12. Clamor Plant: Andante Duet

Link and Samba ran back into the pouring room. Samba thought he heard something as the clatter roared into his ears once more, but dismissed it as said clatter. The enemies they had defeated before were back, but they were ready to fight. They beat the mannequin enemy nearby, then made their way over to the lefthand ladder. Link started climbing, and Samba hid in his ring partway up. He was let out as Link stepped onto the catwalk on the second floor. They turned and looked around with a new perspective.

They saw the hanging track was differently-shaped than the first floor's, which shall be explained later (when the time comes) to avoid information overload. The catwalk was made of both flat metal bottoms and thick-wire mesh on the top, the latter rust red-orange. There were basic railings that had only one horizontal bar apart from the top, and they could easily swing around and hang from them. It went around the entire room--well, it used to--with breaks where three rivers of molten metal, flowing in metal troughs, came from the far end of the rectangular room. (The rivers on the first floor shared their source with the ones above.) However, unnatural breaks were there, as well, probably the work of the monsters. Thankfully, there was enough to get to the near end of the room, the side the foyer's attatched to. They also noted a few round, horizontal support bars for the track with exposed wiring wrapped about, electrifying them. They were a short jump upwards for either young man (and, in fact, either one would likely bump their head if they did an edge hop or at least get hit by the electricity arcing from it) and thin enough to grip all the way around. They went straight from the wall to the tracks. One was near them, and another was a swinging jump away from it over a break in the catwalk, below which was a beamos statue on the first floor. Across this break was some more gadgetry like the kind they'd found in the second floor of the room with the conveyers and gorons. One such machine blocked the path, live wires dangling from the ceiling down and preventing a safe Samba jump. In front and at the corner of that and half another (this one on the outside and on a part that was farther into the room than the rest of the catwalk) was a crystal switch. A barred door was in the wall of this little dead end.

The bokoblins of the room were also found along the catwalk, so Link and Samba took the chance to cut them down as they went along. They made their way around for the chest's location. When they got there, they found it was absent. "We've got to hit a switch or something before it appears," Link reasoned.

"Or we could go through that door and explore," Samba suggested, pointing to a door that was a bit away from the chest's spot. They went inside.

They found themselves on the rust mesh above the foyer. Below, they could see the top sides of the goron emblems. In front, they saw a conveyer belt spanning the distance between the two rooms where the transportation machine snaked around and around. Overhead, they sighted the ceiling crystal switch that Link had glimpsed soon after entering the foundry. "Yes!" Link hissed, shooting an arrow at it. It clanged and changed from grey to blue, and a moment later, the other barred door opened. "Hang on," Link said, and they ducked out.

Again, Samba heard something, and this time he was certain of it. Before he could tell his partner, he was off. Vaulting over the top railing bar, Link made to jump off entirely. He stopped himself from falling, to Samba's slight surprise, and instead swung his heels to the open edge of the catwalk, gripping the railing with both hands behind him. He looked out, estimating his chances of survival, before deciding to drop, turn, and catch and hang from the catwalk, then fall from there. The landing wasn't pleasent, but it wasn't too painful. Samba followed, but instead of hanging and falling, he jumped down and forwards from the catwalk and rolled after landing.

Link reentered the foyer, forgetting Samba, and breathed a sigh of relief. Samba, grumbling that his partner left him behind, opened the door when he saw this. "What's the relief for?" he asked.

"The switch's permanent," he answered, pointing up at the switch and left at the still-unblocked door with a smile. "Anything that makes this place easier, huh?"

"Huh." Samba nodded. "Well, wanna go in?" he asked.

"I don't see any chests in that room," Link said, looking at his minimap.

"Alright, since I heard something coming into the the pouring room," Samba said, and beckoned with an arm. "Listen carefully this time for anything out of the ordinary."

Link, interested, trotted back over and led them back into the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, he and Samba strained to hear. Sure enough, barely audible above the din, they heard four ascending notes: Boop-boop-boop-boop! "What was that?" Link asked, turning to Samba.

"I dunno," Samba replied. "I think...I think it has something to do with the compass," he said.

"Mm." Link took it out, looked at it, then held it in his right hand and to his pointed ear, holding his rings to the other. "Hold your ring to your ear, then open the door," he instructed. "It's either from them or the compass."

Popping in and out of the foyer again, they discovered it was, indeed, their rings which had made the sound. In fact, they all flashed with each note: Green-blue-red-all. "Wonder what it means?" Samba asked. Link shrugged. They then faced the room again.

"Think it's that big puzzle over there?" asked Link, pointing to the tiled-floor puzzle directly ahead of them.

"I don't know," Samba said. "Maybe." He growled and, drawing his sword, slashed at an annoying fire keese that had strayed over. "Let's take care of all these enemies, first."

They agreed, then went to eliminating the enemies that hadn't been taken care of since their last visit. (They had gathered by then that the monsters had a chance to regroup if they go two rooms away. Since the foyer, though split in two floors, was one room, the mannequin and bokoblins they defeated before were still gone.) After they took care of all of the enemies, they looked around. They noticed, turning towards the foyer door, a light on the catwalk above it. The light dimmed a second later. "What on...?" Link and Samba muttered. They went up the ladder onto the catwalk again and turned to look. Link gasped as he found a chest was in the spot the compass said it should be.

"We had to defeat all of the enemies?" Samba asked as Link trotted off. He joined him as he got to the chest. Link opened it and reached in to get the item. He turned and both smiled as they beheld their prize, Link holding it and Samba crossing his arms and looking from his position a bit to the side.

"A small key!" said Link. "We can use this to get to the other gorons."

"Good," Samba said. "Maybe THEY can give us a map."

"Let's hope they can," Link agreed, putting the key in his pocket.

They both leaped off the edge of the catwalk and rolled on the first floor before they dashed off through the stairwell door. They rolled in unison at the last second to avoid the Blade Trap entirely and skidded to a halt soon after before hitting the door. Link got the key out and turned the lock in front of them. As expected, it stuck fast, but the lock clicked open. The lock was different in working because of the straight locking bar. So, instead of the lock itself dropping a bit and exposing an end of the obstructing bar, like for the common U-bar padlocks, a rod with a cupped end attached to the left end of the horizontal bar and the padlock was allowed to swing free and down to the left side of the lock, the cup freeing the horizontal bar. This led the lock, now unbalanced and given a little push from the rod, to slide out right and clang to the floor. The door was unlocked. Link pressed the button and came in, Samba following, and raised his eyebrows in surprise at the room before him.

The noise had gone down to a minimum, the quietest room yet. Instead of metal all over the place, stone was the material of choice. Some streamers like those found in Goron City were spread along the wall. Spaced around the room were six forges. Each had by it an anvil, a stack of sheet metal, a rack of tools, and a goron. All of them were standing around, clanging away with hammers at different objects. The one closest to them, in front and to their left against the wall, was working on a sword, holding it with tongs and banging it out with his back turned to them. To the left of the two was a barred door. To the right and above them was a hole in the wall with skinny, stalactite-like bars of rock that served as a small window. They couldn't see what was on the other side, though, since it was too far. Looking at a diagonal to their right, a bit of minecart track was visible, complete with brace.

At the sound of them entering, most of the gorons they could see stopped what they were doing and looked at them in surprise. The one working on the sword stopped after looking at everyone else, then followed suit. "Goro? O-Outsiders?" he asked in surprise.

Immediately, the other gorons walked over to Link and Samba, making various motions and asking different things all at once. "Is it safe to leave?" "How did you get here, Brothers?" "A human and a lizalfos?" "What're you doing here?" "Do you have any good rocks to eat, goro?"

Link and Samba paled and backed up against the door, each on either side of the button, at a loss for words from the onslaught of questions.

"ENOUGH, BROTHERS!" commanded a deeper voice.

Everyone stopped and turned. The goron whose forge was the most directly across from the door, going flush against the wall, came walking forwards. The five others parted to let Link and Samba see him. He was a little bigger than the other gorons, colored more deeply orange, and covered with metallic bronze paint instead of the plain, pale beige paint covering the other gorons. His crossed arms were more bulky than other gorons'. A short scar was visible on his large stomach, splitting horizontally across his navel. He was scowling. His eyes struck a nostalgic chord in Samba, since they bore the toughness that the eyes of the foreman of the fishermen bore. Link and Samba walked away from the door a bit after they were given space and met the hefty creature, gorons forming a tunnel on either side.

The taller goron looked down at them, frowning a bit. "-I- shall ask the questions," he announced, voice deep and gravely. It sounded harsher than the easy speech of most other gorons. "I am the foreman of Death Canyon Foundry and Smithy. My name is Sarbog. Who are you two, first of all?" He tilted his head and raised a thick eyebrow.

"This is Link, and I'm Samba," Samba introduced, nodding. "We are--"

"Why are you here?" interrupted Sarbog, raising his voice a little.

Samba cringed at the unsaid rebuke, so Link answered, "To rescue you gorons."

At this, Sarbog's eyebrows raised and his head straightened. "RESCUE us? HAH!" He shook his head to one side, eyes shutting. His massive shoulders and sizable back muscles prevented him from turning it all the way to the side. "It is indeed impressive you've managed to get this far without dying, but to truly rescue us would be beyond the abilities of a mere hylian and lizalfos." He opened his eyes and looked sideways at them, still scowling. "LEAVE," he commanded firmly, but not hostilly. "You will die, otherwise. The army of metal and electricity, as well as the organic monsters here, will crush your weak bodies as they have threatened ours. Thank you for unlocking the door--now leave through it and us be. Take any COWARDS with you," he added, looking at the other smiths, who cringed a little.

"But--" Link and Samba began to protest.

"LEAVE."

They blinked and looked at him, disbelieving what they heard. They looked at each other, then the other gorons, who looked back at them with faces of sorriness. With a sigh, Link and Samba turned around. Link raised his hand to press the button as he turned when the doors opened on their own. The two quickly parted to let whoever was coming enter, eyebrows/-ridges raised. They pressed against the gorons around them. Their fronts were rough and hard--even their characteristic round bellies felt hard from how tightly compressed their body fat was against thier abdominals. Of course, that may have been because of how flat they seemed compared to normal gorons.

"WAIT, SIR!!" cried the goron who jogged in, holding his big hands up.

Link and Samba started and, together with Sarbog, said, "Boroy??" in surprise. "What are you--" began Link.

"What did I say?" asked Sarbog as the door closed, glaring at the human. He looked at Boroy. "What are you doing here, Boroy? Have you come to convince us to run from our foundry like roaches from a sudden light?" He sounded a little peeved, now.

Boroy shook his head. "No, sir," he replied.

"Why, then?"

Boroy motioned to Link and Samba. "I am the one who sent these two here to stop this madness before you all starve to death," he answered. "I'm here because I was worried about them and wanted to lend my aid somehow. I waited until I was certain that the way was clear for me to reach this room and, if I had to, destroy the lock with my bare fists." He clenched them and brought them up in a sort of boxing position.

"Which would have landed you into MORE trouble for destroying a piece of hard-worked-on goron ware," reminded the foreman sternly. "Why did you send them to rescue us?" he asked him.

Boroy spread his big hands out. "Because I couldn't do it and was sure they could," he answered. "Sir! You've all been here for a long time with no food! I didn't want to abandon my fellow goron Brothers!"

"OH, so fleeing from the factory was NOT abandoning?!" Sarbog asked through gritted teeth and lowered brow.

Boroy took a step back, frowning a little nervously. "N-No, sir, I was not abandoning my Brothers--I was only leaving to get help somehow. But Daigorno won't let anyone travel down the direct passage from home to the storage room entrance, and I was unsure if I could sneak off and successfully liberate everyone alone..."

Sarbog scoffed. "Then why trust two weak swordsmen?" he asked, teeth ungritted.

"Because I KNOW they can do it," Boroy answered, shaking his fists in front of him resolutely. "Don't send them away. Trust that they can help us. I do. They wanted to come here, anyway," he added, looking back at them. "They insisted they come. They said they want to see what they could do--and that includes more than just saving everyone."

Sarbog raised an eyebrow, then made a deep, almost growling "Hmmmmmmm..." before looking at Link and Samba, who had moved to be on one side of Boroy. "Link and Samba, was it?" he asked. Nods. "Why do you want to help us? What's in it for you?"

"Nothing," Link replied, but Samba had put a paw on his shoulder as soon as he'd begun to say something to support. Link looked and Samba shook his head.

"Trust me, Link," he said flatly, "keeping the truth from a foreman is a VERY BAD THING." He turned to look at Sarbog. "We're here to see if we can straighten this hellhole out and hopefully get your chief to stop acting like a tailhole," he answered.

Sarbog raised his eyebrows, then chuckled and shook his head, eyes closed. "Well, at least it is more noble than I thought, from the sounds of it...unless you seek a reward from him?"

Samba started to shake his head before stopping, thinking, then tilting his paw. "Not really, at least not the reward you're thinking of," he replied.

"The reward we seek from him is a decrease in the chances of him helping the side of evil, since dark days are coming to Hyrule unless they're stopped, and we need to talk with him. To do that, we need to get on his good side," Link explained. Samba nodded. "That, and I'll feel a LOT better knowing that people are safe," he added.

Sarbog raised an eyebrow at this. "Eh? What, you expect me to believe that slag?" he asked, grumbling. He shook his head. "Bah. How do you think you can convince him of anything? Why should he?"

"We've connections," Samba replied.

"Really? Peh...Whatever the reasons are," Sarbog said, adjusting his grip on his crossed arms, "you seem really dead-set on helping. If you are, go and reactivate our drinking water for this room. Go and shut off our haywire beamos statues. Go and destroy that horrible beast that has called and established control over the mechanoids. You want to go and save us? Go and save the Clamor Plant." He leaned closer and closer down to Link and Samba as he listed the tasks.

"Then we will," nodded Link. Samba grimaced, then nodded, too.

"You make it sound so simple," sneered the foreman. "Why should I believe you'll do this? Why should I believe you CAN do this? Why should I or ANYONE believe anything you say, fickle human and distrustful lizalfos? And what makes you SO sure that you CAN do this, if you are?"

Link answered all of this simply by drawing the Master Sword and holding it, point down, up to them.

The gorons gasped and started back, except for Sarbog, who remained standing (if again raising his eyebrows). Boroy gaped. "I THOUGHT that hilt was familiar, but I thought it was merely a replica," he said as the others gibbered. "But that brilliance!"

"That craftsmanship!"

"That air!"

"That steel!"

"That shape!"

"That edge!"

"That proves NOTHING!" Sarbog shouted, waving a hand. "There is no way that you can be the weilder of the finest sword in the history of weaponry!"

Link tossed the Master Sword straight up and carefully caught the blade with one hand, pinching it on the flat. With the same hand, he tilted it to Sarbog, offering the hilt. "Then, experienced smith..." he said.

Sarbog glared and grasped the hilt. Almost as soon as he did, he yelped, released it, and stepped back, holding his hand and looking at it. It sizzled faintly for a split second. He looked at it, standing still for a moment. Then, he dropped his head and began shaking. Link quickly spun the sword around, catching the hilt and sheathing the weapon again as he reached for his sheild, ready for an attack. Samba raised his buckler, like-minded. However, the foreman didn't explode as expected.

Instead, he emitted a low chuckle. It grew louder and louder until he was laughing boisterously, whipping his head up to reveal a happily grinning face, eyes shut. He rested his hands on his stomach while he laughed. Then, after a short calming, he sighed, smirking as he crossed his arms again. He looked at them with narrowed eyes, still, but ones of approval. He stepped forwards once more. "So I see, hylian. Only an honest, strong, and utmostly brave man may grip that hilt. You have my respect, Brother."

Link and Samba looked at each other, then sighed in relief. "Thank you, sir," Link said, bowing a bit.

Sarbog held a hand up. His eyes flicked to the rings. "And those are the Rings of Dualty, are they not?" he asked.

Link and Samba switched leaders.

Sarbog chuckled again. "So I see. Then you, too, lizalfos, have my respect."

Samba bowed a bit, as well. "Thank you, sir."

"I will not apologize for my behavior, however," Sarbog said, shaking his head and dropping the smirk. "I acted how I acted, and I am glad I did, for I believe that you two might have needed a new kind of test of courage." He nodded, smiling now. "I believe you, and I thank you, that you will help us. If there is anything we can do to help, just speak to me."

"I request permission to ask a question, sir," stated Boroy.

"Granted." Sarbog looked at him, smile fading again.

Boroy nodded. "How can we get to the beast when the key to its lair was lost during the attack?" he asked.

Sarbog smirked and answered, "Simple." He turned to the others and barked, "Back to work!" To Link and Samba, he said, "I must attend to my work. I wish to speak to you later, for I have much to tell you about here and the task you must now face." With that, he spun on his heel and returned to his forge.

Link and Samba looked at each other, sharing looks of relief. "That was close," said Boroy, whom they turned to. He looked relieved, too, hand on chest. "That was some clever thinking, Link! If you didn't prove that's the Master Sword like that, he'd've kicked you out, Brothers!"

"Well, let's get to him and see what he wants," Samba said. "Link? You want the sword?"

"You can keep it for a while," he answered, smiling.

"Thanks!" Samba led Link, Boroy following after Link, to Sarbog. As they went, they noticed a pair of large chains with handles going into the wall with the barred door (the left while they went to the foreman). They were between the two forges on that wall. When they reached Sarbog, who was working on a shield, they noticed a large, deep, wooden trough nestled between the second forge on the left wall and the wall Sarbog's forge was against. Knobs and faucets stuck from the wall. The sink, as it were, was empty. Samba looked at Sarbog after looking at that.

"Ah, are you ready for the task already?" Sarbog asked, turning from his work, crossing his arms again. Link and Samba nodded. "Then let me tell you what you must do." He pointed to the far wall, where the sink was. "First, as I had listed, we would appreciate you getting the water running again. The only water we have here is used to cool the metal." He motioned to a deep, square bucket by the steel at his forge. "We cannot drink it, and even that is going fast from all our forging. We gorons may subsist on rock, but we are living things like any other--we require water as much as any hylian or lizalfos. The switches for it are in the room beyond that barred door."

"SwitchES?" Link repeated. 'Why would they have to turn on TWO to turn the water on? Is it one for hot and one for cold?'

Sarbog nodded, a smirk appearing on his visage. "Yes. You see, we gorons working here in the foundry find it a necessity to work together. If the time is ripe for the birth of the Knights of Dualty, then the time for teamwork is at hand. You must learn to work together, even if separate from each other."

Link and Samba looked a bit surprised. "How will we do that, sir?" Samba asked.

The foreman nodded at their rings. "I have researched artifacts such as your rings and the Master Sword. Your rings are able to be used to communicate like no machine any can think of yet, thanks to their magic. Simply hold up your ring and focus some of your thoughts to it and on your partner. If it begins to pulse with light, then you have done it--you may now speak with each other as if you are a touch away even if you are on opposite sides of the land...or even farther. Try it."

"Eh?" Link went.

"Samba, since you are leader, holding the Master Sword, you will have to tell Link to stay whenever you need to go alone," instructed the goron, looking at him. "And vice-versa if Link is leader. I know it may seem silly, but do so now. Then, get across the room and try to contact Link through your ring."

Samba smiled sheepishly at Link, who shrugged with the same look. "Link, stay here," Samba instructed.

"Right," Link said, and stayed in front of Sarbog while Samba trotted past him to loop around to the other side of the room alone, going away from the trough and chains wall.

Samba discovered that half of the forges were against walls, and the other half was free-standing. Around the one ahead of him and right were new discoveries. The minecart track went straight into two large double doors. A bar went across its handles. Across from the side of the forge he'd just gone around was an eye switch with a bit of difference--its iris was brown. Samba tilted his head in curiosity, but went on until he was at the far corner of the room. Once there, he lifted his ring paw and looked at the rings. 'Ring of Dualty, contact Link,' he thought with all his might. The ring began to glow.

Link noticed his ring begin to glow and emit a soft, unearthly, shimmering hum that faded in and out. He raised his ring. The sound stopped.

Both rings began to pulse. Samba grinned in success. "It worked!" he said.

Link raised his eyebrows as he heard Samba's voice from the ring quite clearly. It wasn't loud, but it was clear and he could hear it above the other sounds around him. "That it did!" he replied.

"! It really DOES work!" Samba chuckled.

"Good," came Sarbog's voice. "You can hear the voice of anyone else who directs their words to you, Samba, and stands near Link's ring," he explained. "Now, Samba, Link, focus on the image of your partner and on the desire to know where he is."

Samba and Link did so, eyes open, and were amazed when, clear as day, each got the mental impression of the other standing at Sarbog's forge or near the eye switch, wearing the same impressed expression. They saw their partner just in their mind, and were both able to see normally, although focusing on both at once was a little difficult. The image even remained when they were not thinking about it directly. "Woah," Samba whispered.

"Yes," Sarbog said. "Impressive, is it not? I wish I could see, as well, but I can only speak. Now, whenever you need to know which of you is doing what, call each other on the rings and think about the other together. Seeing as the rings work like a well-oiled machine for many of their functions, I have given it a term I would perhaps apply to a machine. I call this ability to view each other simultaneously as if you were hiding within your rings...Sync Mode."

"'Sync Mode'?" repeated Link, looking at Sarbog and raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Through this function of the Rings of Dualty, you can easily see what each is doing and, also, transport the Master Sword INSTANTLY to one another to switch leaders," informed Sarbog, nodding. "The one with the Master Sword can activate Sync Mode on their own if need be, but the other must be ready for it. You can also perform the eponymous Synchronize function of the rings. Without a word, without a problem, you will be able to perform actions in perfect synchronization, your minds linked but separate at the same time. This is a frightening concept, indeed, but it works spectacularly. The real beauty of it, though, is that while one can slash with his sword, the other can fire an arrow, both being executed at the same time--you can syncronize actions that are the same or different. This is, in essence, an alternate, more exact method to counting off, but sometimes, that is the better option, for your sakes. However, there will be times when you will want to move and act at the EXACT same time.

"BE CAREFUL, though, since your movements will be PRECISELY like the other's from the way you are viewing one another. This means that if you're careless, you can end up walking one of you into a trap or worse. Now, Samba, come back here and go to one of the heavy chains that were to your left when walking to me before."

After this lengthy lecture, Samba nodded and turned to trot back. Link remained where he was, watching Samba move in his mind between the forges. Samba reached the first of the chains and stopped.

"Alright, now what?" Link asked for Samba.

"You have to pull them out as far as they can go and have both be kept that way for a short moment at the same time," Sarbog instructed. "You don't need to synchronize your movements, but just be sure to stay put where you are, still pulling the chain, when you switch leaders. This is a good idea in general--stay put in a safe spot so that your partner can focus on himself more. Pull on your chain, Samba, then make Link the leader. He'll then come and pull the other chain. After that, enter the door you will open, find a way to the switches, one on each floor, that must be struck in unison to reactivate our water, and take my bidding of good luck with you." Sarbog nodded when he was finished. "If you want to review anything, ask me. I must return to my work, now, since, while we are here, we have the best chance to catch up on the work we need."

Samba and Link nodded once more before Samba clapped and rubbed his paws together. "Alright, let's get this started!" he said. He bent down, grabbed a D-shaped handle at the end of the chain he stood before, and began backing up with the iron in his paws. The chain gradually straightened and became taut between Samba and the wall. He grunted and tugged until he could get nothing farther--he got only a half a foot, about, before a dull thump was heard. That, and another forge's wall was about a foot behind him, so he wasn't that far from being stopped, anyway. He then willed Link to be the leader.

Before Samba could lift his paw to send it normally, Link recieved the Master Sword. It had gone as soon as Samba had willed it! 'THAT'S what he means by instantly,' the lizalfos thought, eyes narrowing from the strain. "Hurry, this isn't fun," he grunted to Link.

Link nodded and ran over. He did the same thing as Samba. When his was fully extended, both of theirs let the other half foot out suddenly, making them stumble back and let go. They heard another sound and looked to the door beyond the forge on their left. It unbarred itself.

"That must be it," Link said to Samba. "Come on."

"Let's quit Sync Mode for now, then, if we don't need it," Samba suggested as he followed Link. "It's a little annoying and confusing to see both views moving, not to mention it's a little strange."

"Agreed," Link said, and they willed that they view life as normal. With a flash from the rings, the mental feed faded out, and they could see only what their eyes saw.

"Wait," Boroy called before they left. They turned to him as he came over. "I'm here to help you guys, and I'm gonna figure out how here for a bit. If there's anything I can help with now, though, tell me."

Samba thought for a second. "Do you know what those mechanical things are called?" he asked. "I remember hearing about them a while ago, but I forgot a lot..."

"Oh, the XT23 models?" Boroy asked, tilting his head.

"XT...!" Samba snapped his claws. "That's it! They're these metal things that all are officially called 'XT23-' then a number and a letter depending on what kind they are, right?" he checked.

Boroy nodded. "That's right," he confirmed. "I have a little cheat sheet that you can use to refresh your memory, if you want."

"That'd be great! I'll just copy down what I have already and then look at it when we see newer foes," Samba smiled. Boroy handed him a piece of parchment and Samba excused himself to dash to a corner, crouch down, and scribble in his book of monsters for a few minutes. When he came back, Link led them into the door and looked at their new surroundings.

In front of them was a hanging track like the kind they saw before in the pouring room. It went across the center of the room horizontally and was attatched to three large, square machines lined up in a row in the general far-right corner of the room. They touched no walls. They went high up into the wire mesh-floored second floor, and there were openings all around each of them, covered by metal panels with handles to slide them open. They saw that forms made of what appeared to be sand came from a large opening the hanging tracks went from. They looked like the things which the metal was poured into in the pouring room. Above, from the direction of those objects, they heard the sound of something sliding off of a flat surface with a SSSS that wasn't very unpleasant for once. In the far left corner, they saw another door and mine cart track that came from the room ahead. It went across the front of the door and down into an opening in the floor, where carts would traverse an underground maze the swordsmen dared not brave, for fear they could be lost for eternity. "This must be where they make the molds for the metal," Link muttered.

"And there are the workers," Samba added, pointing to some more mannequin-like mechanoids. They were a bit different, however, since their limbs were scrawnier and merely joints, and their "hands" were actually tools that appeared more for gripping, and they went in and out of their arms on little pushers Boroy's cheat sheet called pistons. They had no real face except for a pair of small things that Boroy's cheat sheet identified as cameras when it talked about one of the enemies they had met before. There were four on this floor and four above them on the mesh floor. (They noticed the upper floor wasn't entirely reaching to the walls.) "Let's see..." He paused a moment to think, remembering his recent quick review. "...Those things are XT23-4O's, nicknamed 'Drones'. They're more durable than those things we saw before in the pouring room and are armed, although minimally. However, avoid those things they've got on their 'hands', which Boroy tells me are called pistons. They can punch at high speed. We should try and push them off an edge or into something destructive until we can inflict heavier hits."

Link nodded. "Right. This means we should probably skeddadle, now," he said, gesturing to the door ahead.

The Drones caught sight of them with their cameras, which twisted and focused in place of eyes widening. They turned and marched over, step by step. Link and Samba were WAAAAY ahead of them, however, across the tracks and through the door within five metal footfalls. Once through, they encountered a very different sight compared to the rest of the facility.

They were in a corner of the room and facing the hugest pile of sand they'd ever seen in their lives. On their right was a set of thick bars spaced just enough that neither could squeeze through comfortably or effectively. They were parallel with another set about two feet away from them further right. To be comfortable for both thrower and lander, tossing the rings would be ineffective. Wondering why they were there, the two looked up to find a catwalk supported by it that went into the sand hill. It also separated them from a minecart track that had the same sort of pushing robots that they'd seen in the room with the compass. They were pulling a cart to the sand pile, tilting it down towards them, and then continuing on into the sand pile, burying themselves while filling the cart with sand. They would right it and push it out again, sand falling back to replace where they had scooped.

"Those cute little things, by the way," pointed Samba at the one going past, "are XT23-5C's, or 'Auto Carts'. They're just little robots that push carts along tracks--getting in the way of one by accident is the only way that they can hurt you. You can actually hop on and ride them, which gives you a good chance to stab through their thin armor and destroy them in one hit, though I don't know why you'd do that if they're not going to hurt you..."

Link nodded and looked at his minimap. "There are a couple chests around here!" he announced. "Come on, they're both at the other end of the room." They went forwards.

It didn't take long for them to be assaulted by some of those things they found before. "THESE are the robotic cousins of our favorite cave-dwellers," Samba identified, smacking one aside with his tail, "'Camera Keese', XT23-0B's. They hang from metal ceilings, using magnets, Boroy says, then drop and hover on those blades of theirs and observe intruders, attacking with something Boroy says is an electric prod. They're fragile, though, and, as we already know, we can take care of them as easily as the organic creatures we know and hate." So easily, in fact, they were continuing along again midway through the last sentence.

Link found a chest halfway buried in the sand, thankfully with its front visible enough to access. He kicked it open and frowned at the measly yellow rupee inside. "Oh, come on," he grumped, putting his hands on his hips like a displeased child. He shook his head and got the money, though.

"There's another one over east," Samba said, looking at the back of his paw, then pointing when he noticed he had his partner's attention. He looked and squinted past the barriars that were in front of their vision now (they saw the room was much bigger than they may have thought, full of more catwalks that separated it into rectangular sections). "I don't see it, though..."

"Then let's get the one we CAN see," Link pointed, looking at the crest of the hill (well, the highest part; the sand went down from the walls and corners, no seperate mounds to have real crests). With some difficulty, they managed to climb up the tricky terrain to the second floor.

Samba almost rolled off of the hill in laughter at Link's expression when he found nothing but a mere blue rupee in the chest on top there.

When they were both calmed down, they scanned their new environment. They saw that the catwalks also had reinforced, diamond print (I think that's the name of the pattern) metal pieces that formed much wider bridges across the catwalks. On the one nearest to them was a beamos, which was not very happy news. They noticed that there was a small, very thin ledge of the stuff against the wall, above where they came in, connected to the first catwalk. Link saw a door at one end and bet that he could probably sidle his way along to it to see what's inside. They also saw, looking at the southern wall, sloped minecart tracks going through openings that had none of the barriar needles Link had seen before in the pouring room.

They went along the top of the hill there, hugging the wall. Samba found himself moving noticably easier than Link, thanks to his footpaws providing more area. "Say, if we ever have to go to the Gerudo Desert, it'd be faster if I'm in charge," he said after noticing this.

"But wouldn't your scales get sand beneath them?" Link asked, smirking over his shoulder.

Samba frowned. "Well, yes, but this isn't exactly a vacation we're on, is it?" he asked back.

Link chuckled, looking forwards again. He then stopped, noticing something below. They were where the first track they'd seen was, which was on a little peninsula of sand hill. The part that was high enough for the second floor was awful near the beamos, but he didn't walk along it that far. He went far enough to see down below in an enclosed area. (He couldn't see it going farther and looking directly down because of a catwalk forming a right angle. At the vertex of this angle was another beamos, one he knew had a vantage at some distance below.) "Woah."

In a place that was as big as a floor switch, a metal pyramid stuck from the ground. In front of that in the little arena were two helmasaurs, three bokoblins, and one armored bokoblin. "Samba, let's get them from here, before they notice us," Link called in a hoarse whisper.

"Good plan," Samba nodded, reaching into his pebble pouch. "I'll handle the bokoblins, you get the armored one, and then we'll get the helmasaurs on our own."

"Then wait for me to..." Link trailed off and pointed his bow, holding steady. After confident his aim was true, he let fly. THWACK! Right between the armored bokoblin's eyes!

Immediately, Samba let fly his three pebbles held in his paw, one after another as he headshot the other three 'blins. Afterwards, they drew their swords and ran down the slope. This made them yelp and stop as they began sliding down the sand. They got in control and managed to use this to their advantage. "HYAH!" Link cried as he jumped off before hitting the floor, going over the helmasaur in front of him. He landed, spun around, and gave a strong stab with the Master Sword at the creature, defeating it with a follow-up slash. He then yelped in agony, flying away as the beamos struck him from its sniping point.

Samba's had its back facing him, but he jumped over it, too, since he saw the beamos above. This wasted a little time, but they got it done. Link trotted over as Samba set his footpaw down, fresh from a punt. (He ended combos against helmasaurs with a punt when he knew that it would finish them.) "You have any idea what--" he began as he approached, pointing his sword at the metal pyramid.

Samba looked over at the sound of Link's voice, then growled, turning around entirely. "Link, get back, NOW," he ordered through gritted teeth. "We've big trouble."

Link turned his head, then retreated backwards to the catwalk wall. A large form was coming out of the sand hill. Sand poured off its sides until it was finally exposed entirely. It was about eight feet tall and widely cylindrical in shape. On its bottom part were two treads. On its top were three inflated fins in a "W" (think about the Machop/-oke/-amp family from the Pokémon series, but more three-dimentional). A few strip lights near its bottom formed something that looked unnervingly like a simple teeth-gritted frown. Two large cameras, as Samba knew, served as "eyes", with bolted-on strips of metal making them angry. The cameras were currently covered with eyelid-like plates. On either side, close to it, was a giant, five-fingered fist of metal almost as big as itself. It didn't appear friendly at all.

"Link, this is a very dangerous creature called the XT23-3V, the 'Metal Ramrock'," Samba said in an urgent voice quickly while it came out still. "It has a pair of weird wheel-feet things that Boroy calls treads, and it can rotate them and its body independently. Get your bow out, because only arrows are powerful enough to harm it. How? When it's about to harm us. It opens one of its 'eyes' less than a second before launching the same-side fist at us. It's so powerful, blocking will be nearly useless. Until the fist comes back, though, the eye stays open!"

Link nodded, nocking an arrow right as the creature began to minutely reorient itself to look at them. He aimed between the "eyes" and waited for one to open. Both fighters were ready to jump aside. Then, one shot open. With quick reflexes, Link jerked his right arm to the right before letting go with his left hand. He then jumped to the side with Samba as its left fist blasted terrifyingly quickly out to them. It appeared to be propelled by a jet. Its launchpad appeared to be just a big, rounded tab sticking out of the side of its body. A CRUNCH was heard before a loud CLANG, the former sound being Link's arrow hitting the camera and the latter being the fist colliding with the metal wall.

Link got up near the west catwalk wall and brought up his bow again. However, he had time only to gasp before he was CREAMED by a big metal fist. It got him right in the chest and blew him back against the wall, eliciting a terrific cry from him.

"LINK!!" Samba cried in horror, looking over. The fist, meanwhile, proved that it wasn't just a jet-propelled nuisance; a thick chain quickly yanked it straight back inside to its body. "It can fire the other while one fist is out still!"

"As...*Gasp*...I can see," Link replied, stumbling to get up. He felt his chest and chuckled wryly. "No broken bones...that's a shame..."

"Link, the monster!"

Link shook his head and looked up again. He grimaced and jumped to the right. The left fist missed Samba, slamming into the wall after flying past Link's ear when the hylian landed. At the same time as the jump, Link's bow was up and he was aiming. He quickly let fly, going slightly after it withdrew its right fist. 'Get there first!' he willed.

CRUNCH!

The Metal Ramrock stopped, "mouth" flickering a bit as twigs of electricity blinked around its head. After the second shot Link gave it, the speed at which it pulled back its left fist dropped dramatically, making the chunk of steel fly over and bounce off its "arm" to the floor, chain trailing behind it. It made a deepening, slowing grinding sound, it stopped reeling in the left fist, its held fist dropped to the floor with a clang, and it dimmed. Samba warned Link to step back and raise his shield seconds before, after flashing red, the monster exploded like a bomb, sending bits of metal shrapnel out. They were out of range for the blast, but both had to block a metal scrap.

Link lowered his shield with a relieved breath. Before he could run to collect the three recovery hearts the mechanoid had mercifully left behind, the sides of the metal pyramid revealed themselves to be heavy sheet metal triangles that slid into the floor, opening the switch to the air and to them. Link smiled triumphantly. "Thank goodness." He put his bow away and got his boomerang instead. He got the three hearts in one go, absorbing them all at once when he caught his amazing boomerang. Once that was done and he was alright again, he stepped onto the floor switch.

A heavy THUD was heard, and both twitched and froze as a loud sound emitted from a section of the sand hill falling down, they could see through the bars. They looked at each other and gulped. "Um...I hope we didn't do anything too bad," Link went slowly.

"Uh-huh," was all Samba replied in nodding agreement. Both were trying not to imagine what the foreman would do to them if they DID do something destructive.

They ran up the hill again to investigate (avoiding the beamos). They found nothing until continuing along. The fourth catwalk (two walled the first track and the third was the angle previously described) was accessable from the sand on the second floor as it went right into it. It was VERY tightly next to another catwalk, having a little under a foot between them. What they found after going onto it was that they must have lowered a solid wall that kept some sand at bay; it now spilled onto the tracks around them below.

These tracks both went up into the second floor and the last room and carried an Auto Cart. It started down there, going around the angled catwalk into sand. It went down and branched from either going up or going around a turn, depending on how some movable track was oriented, it appeared. It appeared to be, to us, a classic track switch spot in train tracks. It was made to either go straight up the slope and not turn, or turn, go across east, then meet another intersection. It didn't look like it would work right now if only the first were made to turn, though, since another turn would be needed. It didn't appear to be active, as another Auto Cart went straight down from the second slope and across the intersection to straight ahead.

Now, Link assumed that it would continue past another intersection to recieve some sand from a slot that would open in the raised, sand-keeping wall, then go back. Now, however, it just went to the intersection and stopped. It whirred a few times, then followed along to the right. It then ignored another intersection and went down another turn and eventually made the farthest slope, which went up to the south wall while being next to the eastern one. Another catwalk divided it from the last of the slopes, where it would have gone had it turned last intersection. Link couldn't see this track's first-floor layout well because of second-floor bridge pieces.

Speaking of, one piece went off of each of the parallel catwalks they were on (sure to be far from the beamos nearby that could probably get them if they stood too close). One connected the western catwalk (the one they climbed onto) to the angle/beamos catwalk (which connected to the other by a bridge above the floor switch), and the eastern catwalk was connected by one to another one that was sharply angled to a full 180-degree turn. If they continued east on it, they would meet the catwalk dividing the final two sloped tracks. This one was oddly shaped, being more like a backwards "F" than anything.

However, right now, more important than complicated room design to Samba was the Piece of Heart he saw lodged between the catwalks below. "Link, can you use the boomerang to get that?" he asked, crouching and pointing.

Link turned, followed his gaze, and gasped. He immediately tried. Regardless of whatever place he stood when throwing, or how well his aim was, the boomerang smacked against the sides and came back to his hand. He gave up after a couple minutes, shaking his head in sad defeat and putting his item away. "No use, it's too narrow," he decided.

Samba sighed, shaking his head. He looked over at his tail, flicking it. "If we had, like, a long tail or arm--heck, leg, in my case--we could go get it directly," he grumbled. He consulted his minimap, then looked over. His face brightened. "But we've got some consolation to get," he chimed, trotting over.

"Hm?" Link followed. He stopped and smiled at the sight below. "YES!"

The big chest they had thought hidden before was now sitting in the sand, in line with the crack in the catwalks.

"The gate opening must have made enough sand recede that it revealed it," Link realized. They went to it and nodded. Turning to the chest, they each took one end and lifted. A light shone from inside, making Samba wince momentarily, and they opened it fully. They looked down inside, smiled, and nodded to each other before, Samba on the right and Link on the left, reaching in and taking the item out together. They then turned, holding the item up in front of them, victorious looks on their faces.

"The map!" Samba crowed. "Now we can finally find our way in this mess!" [Tip: You may wish to refer to link in the author's comments because this room is horribly described here.]

"About time, too," Link added, nodding. They stood close together while he took it and spread it open, examining it.

Indeed, it was a two-level foundry. The map even had lines for the sand, which spread irregularly across the room. Not surprisingly, it still read that the sand was where it was before Link released the gate and let some loose. They saw it had lines for the catwalks and that one "fenced in" some sand. Samba looked behind him and saw a strange sight. "Hey, I think it's a weird floor switch behind that bit of sand," he said to Link. He hopped over and walked across the catwalk like he had to with his big feet--like on a balance beam. (Link could go normally.) He went around and saw he was right. "But it's all rusty-looking," he reported, returning to him. "You'd need to either be as heavy as a goron or use the same amount of downwards force to use it."

Link nodded, filing that into the back of his mind as he looked again at the map. Handily, each room, since it was a foundry owned by the gorons (as their symbol in one corner said), was labeled with symbols and a corresponding legend. They were in the one labeled "Sand". The one south of them, with the Drones and strange machines, was "Molds". "Goron-powered Refining" was where the smithy was. There were two "Ready for Transport" rooms, one in each southern corner of the rectangular building.

The map was surprisingly up to date. It had the ravine with dull red molten metal that was certainly not there before in the room marked, indeed, "Pouring". It had single lines with dashes to signify hanging track and parallel lines with dashes to signify mine cart track. Strips with arrows indicated conveyer belts. "X"'s with dots in the center were marked "Sentry Beamos". The compass said that the Leviathan, or so they assumed, was in some unmarked room at the center, northernmost part of the place.

"Link," addressed Samba. He looked over at the nearest mine cart track slopes. "We should hitch a ride up into the second floor of that other room's second floor and see what we can do there. I have a feeling we'll be returning, so let's not worry."

Link nodded and put the map away. "Okay, those guys are single-capacitiy, so in the ring," he told him. Samba solemnly nodded and hid in his ring. Link then slid down the slope on the western side and waited for the Auto Cart to arrive. It came and he jumped on and held tight while it carried its load of sand. It didn't appear to have any problems with the extra weight as it climbed up the slope.

Link reentered the Molds room. Judging by the name of the room, he assumed the three machines were used to make sand molds for the metal to pour into. The mold-making machines indeed extended up to this floor, as well. The cart he was on turned right, then went to the western machine. In the middle of the back of each machine was a hole for pouring sand into. More panels existed, including one on top that was attatched to a jutting chimney-like part. Three Drones worked around it. Link got off before he was potentially hurt by the sand dumping (besides, he had to hold the sides of the cart to stay on). He had to do so at the left turn right before the Auto Cart reached its destination, rolling from the speed. He grunted as he unpleasently slammed into the wall. After standing up, he looked around and then at his minimap, which now had, finally, the map.

There were circles inside wall lines around part of the floor up there, and he gathered that they represented the bar walls. He noticed the second floor was almost entirely taken up by the actual floor, with an "L" of greyed space that meant a floor was below them, but it was a gap as far as this floor was concerned. The "L" didn't make this part an island, however, as there was essentially a shorter strip on the southern part, leaving the "L"'s bottom to stop when in line with the eastern side of the machine he stood near at the moment. The bar wall continued on a bit past this boundary, though, but didn't branch to enclose the second floor, leaving the short boundary an edge wide enough for gorons to comfortably fit through. "That's strange," Link mumbled, looking up and trotting around to see for himself.

This then brought him to the attention of the Drones. Link grumbled and quickly threw Samba, shifting gears to battle once more.

Samba appeared and drew his sword, looking at the edge behind the wall. He also saw, in the southeastern corner of the room, a pair of switches--one eye, one crystal switch. This crystal switch was different, however, upon closer examination: instead of being a globe, it was actually a polyhedron with (although they didn't and couldn't count them all) 100 sides, and looked just SLIGHTLY bigger than normal. "The other switch for the water must be downstairs," he muttered, remembering Sarbog's instructions. "Which kind is it, though?" He glanced again at the edge. "But, Link, let me push these guys off that edge for the moment, alright?" he requested.

"Okay!" Link agreed. The hylian defended himself while Samba handled the Drones, leading them to the edge and punting them off. Samba wondered how far they had to fall for them to be damaged to destruction. He wondered this because he noticed hinges in the flooring he stood on and a few mechanisms in the south wall. When the three drones were destroyed, he also noticed that each left behind a metal object. He filed this away in memory before turning to the switches. "Alright, think we need to hit these two at the same time?" he asked Link as he came, pointing between the crystal and eye switches.

"Hmmm..." Link looked down below Samba's footpaws. He smiled. "Well, that or two crystal switches at the same time," he answered. He then noticed the hinges and mechanisms.

"Think it's a ramp?" Samba asked.

"We'll see," Link replied, pulling his bow out. He aimed and fired at the eye switch. A dull clunk was heard behind them, and they turned to see the part of flooring lower, bending at the hinge with a squeak.

"Yyyyyup."

"Right, we've got to do this fast," Link said, noticing the drones down there working about. He pointed down the ramp. "How about you go down there, since you can kick them away and stun them for a moment if you have to, and we'll use Sync Mode to hit these switches."

"...Well, alright, but you should REALLY learn how to kick or something," Samba shrugged. "Can't you shove your shield at them?"

"I tried when you were tangling with one, and it worked--only when I did it RIGHT as they tried to use that piston to punch me," Link explained. "It didn't do much, though. Your kicks are the better blunt attacks."

Samba smirked, raising a footpaw and clenching his talons. "And HOW many times was I told that these were a hindrance when I was little?" he mused aloud.

"Right, let's go," Link said. They focused together and soon activated Sync Mode. Link stayed put by the switch while Samba became leader and trotted down the ramp. He was only spotted by one drone, which he took care of breifly with a couple kicks. Then, he stood in front of the crystal globe.

"Get ready!" Samba cried up, and they joined minds, if only as halves of hinges are joined. As one, they slashed at the switches.

A groan emitted from the wall they faced. After a moment, a subtle hissing began. Behind the wall in the smithy, the faucet twitched as a WHUMP was heard. Sarbog looked around at the sound of it, raising his eyebrows. The goron nearest it looked, too, and set down his work to go over and investigate. He turned one of the faucet handles and jumped when water flowed out of it. He made a happy goron sound. The other gorons looked up, making the goron grunts of curiosity, before walking over to investigate. Upon seeing the water, they began cheering in their language happily. Sarbog crossed his arms and smiled. Boroy walked up next to him and, after getting a nod from a word, said something in Goron, smiling broadly. Sarbog nodded again, much more vigorously this time.

Samba raised his eyeridges. "Hey, Link," he called.

"Hey, Link," called Link at the same time.

Samba and Link jumped, putting their hands/paws to their mouthes before ending the Synchronization.

Link laughed. "I guess that's what he meant by working in sync," he mused aloud.

"Heh, yeah," Samba agreed. He beckoned. "C'mon, let's end Sync Mode and have you come down. I heard some goron sounds in there."

So, ending Sync Mode, Link came down to join Samba, who he said could be leader some more, he didn't mind. Samba happily accepted the offer and wasted no more time in returning to the smithy before more Drones could get to them.

The gorons were crowded around the sink, save for Sarbog and Boroy. (Sarbog must have slaked his thirst already since he was foreman and had authority to cut in line; Boroy probably had some water before coming into the foundry.) Samba walked over to Boroy, who smiled and shook his fists enthusiastically. "FanTAStic work, brothers!!" he praised. "I knew you could do it! Now we can survive a bit longer!" He bowed. "On behalf of everyone, thank you for helping turn on the water again."

Samba raised a paw, smiling. "Kra sorii," he returned. This wasn't translated to Link through the rings, and Samba turned before he could say so. "'Kra sorii' is a Lizalfos phrase that has multiple translations," he clarified. "It's because it basically is a way to reply good-heartedly to thanks--like, 'No problem,' or, 'Don't mention it,' and things like that. It's different from, 'You're welcome,' since that's basically same between languages--you'd know when I'd say it."

They walked over to Sarbog and greeted him. Sarbog grinned and spread his crossed arms. "Water! A blessing to our parched throats! Thank you very much, brothers!!" he boomed, patting Samba's shoulder (and making his knees buckle).

Samba chuckled uneasily before replying, "Kra sorii," again.

Sarbog smiled and nodded, arms to his sides for a bit while he continued, "I had some faith you could do it. Good work. But..." His face sobered as he crossed his arms once more. "Surely, you saw the Drones in the Molds room, correct?" They nodded. "They are working to maintain the work the horrible beast is forcing upon them. It has taken over the entire factory. We cannot hope to leave with it alive."

"Well, we'll just go and take care of it, then," Samba shrugged.

"Samba? Should you know there's always a catch?" Link asked, raising an eyebrow with a wry smile as he slouched, hand on hip.

"He has truth in his words, blue lizalfos," Sarbog nodded. "We sealed it away...and made sure it remained sealed."

"You locked it up and threw away the key," translated Link, hiding a groan.

"Not threw away--melted away."

Samba and Link resisted putting their faces in their paw/hand. 'Don't people know that's rarely the greatest of ideas?' they wondered.

Sarbog saw it in their eyes and frowned. "We had no choice. It would have taken it through the XT23's and released itself...though..." he trailed off, furrowing his brow as he held his chin. "Now that I think about what plan I have, I wonder why it has not freed itself already..." he muttered.

"May I speak, sir?" Boroy asked, coming over.

Sarbog looked up and nodded, returning his hands to normal. "Permission granted."

"What exactly is this plan you talk about?" Boroy wondered, tilting his head.

Sarbog nodded and looked at the three. "We have the means to recreate the key to its chamber," he informed. "However, it is a long, difficult, and now-dangerous process that has many steps that MUST be all followed--missing one could result in restarting the process almost entirely. Before these steps are taken, however, we must regain some control of this foundry, and to do so we need to recapture one important room. Have you the map for me to show you?"

"Yes," Link said, coming forwards with the map.

Sarbog raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Boroy noticed. Sarbog marked it and returned it to them. "The room I indicated is the Power room," he told them, crossing his arms again. "You must regain control of the factory's power system. Do not worry, it is not that complex," he assured them, noticing a hint of panic in Samba's eyes. (Link was more confident in his puzzle-solving abilities.) "However, you may need to obtain some tools to help you..." He shrugged. "Well, you need to reach the rest of the foundry. Because of that, you will require a code to bypass a keypad--a panel with numbered buttons on it that must be pressed in sequence before pressing a green one to enter it," he quickly explained at their looks of confusion. "Make sure to remember this number:"

Samba and Link listened intently as Sarbog said slowly and clearly, "2-0-9-7-1-9-9-8." They repeated the sequence to themselves, putting it into a set of four numbers (20, 97, 19, 98--like most people probably would), and then nodded once they were sure it was memorized. Sarbog nodded. "Right. This code is used to access the barred northwestern door in Pouring. Come back when the power is in our favor." He nodded again. "Good luck, brothers."

They nodded back and turned to run to the door. Boroy bade them good luck, as well, and they exited the smithy. Again, without entering Sync Mode, they rolled in unison to avoid the Spike Trap before reentering the eardrum torture of Pouring.

- - -

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS -- OPTIONAL READING

**_Sand map:_ **ferretrip**(dot)**deviantart**(dot)**com**(slash)**art**(slash)**Clamor-Plant-Sand-Room-Detail-132388457

I should be reading Antigone, not working on this...Sorry this is taking so much longer than other dungeons, folks. Trust me, doing it in parts like this will help instead of being in one big chapter (that might be too big for ff(dot)net...). I promise this is the last super-complex and -detailed dungeon in a while. I made it WAY too big X_X; But I kinda had to because it's the first experience I've had with a co-op dungeon. We're getting things more on the ball next time, trust me. And forgive me times a thousand for the bad detailing *sweatdrop/nervous smile*! I -MUST- redraw the map and put it up online for folks to see what the fark's going on in each room--at least as the map shows. (Well, with extras I'll put in for us, like where important enemies are.)

Oh, and _mondo_ points for those who can catch the SSX Tricky reference!

I won't blame you for hating this dungeon...but bear with me. I predict one or two more parts are left. And think of it like this: Did major dungeons take only half an hour to do if you wanted to be thorough? Bleh, okay, no excuse for making such a complicated dungeon...At least each room is labeled in this dungeon for ease of reference. I hope I get to include all the cool enemies I made up for this place, though!

And expect dungeon itemage soon!


	13. Clamor Plant: Moderato e Tutti

Samba and Link winced at the sharp rise in volume upon opening the door again to Pouring. They looked around and across the room to the nearest opposite corner. Indeed, two doors were there--one barred, one locked. To their right was the ravine full of molten metal and lava. There was a short ledge pointing out to it that was little wider than the door. Samba looked and gauged the distance from there to the other side. "Don't hide, I might need to," he told Link before taking a step or two back. He paused, taking a breath and letting it out. Then, with a reptilian warcry, he charged forwards and leaped off of the ledge. To his surprise, he landed with about a footpaw length of ground behind him. He blinked. "Oh. Must have just been intimidated."

Getting Link over with him, Samba led on. Before him, he noticed a broken ladder. He frowned and had Link hide for a moment when he saw rivers of magma streaming out of the northern wall (the room the map called "Melting" that they were heading for). He jumped across, noticing the hanging track above him that carried the molds of compressed sand from Molds. Thankfully, all he met were keese, which he ignored until he was on the western side of the room. Then he spin attacked every one of them, having to do his double-spin he discovered earlier in the dungeon. After that, he looked around.

There wasn't much space between the walls and the magma. Before him was the door with the keypad on the wall to the left of the portal. On his left was the locked door. Behind him was an intact ladder up to the catwalk around the room. He went forwards, letting Link out after recalling the map reading there wasn't anything to prevent him from continuing without hiding. He stopped at the keypad and thought for a second.

It was laid out much like the way keypads we know them to be are. Four rows of three buttons faced him, going in the familiar-to-us sequence. The bottom row had a green button, then 0, then a red one that they assumed meant to clear what was punched in already to try again. "It was...20, 97..." Samba muttered, prodding the metal squares while uncomfortable with the technology.

"...19, 98..." Link muttered behind him, watching him enter these in. They saw a reasonably-sized display of round, pencil-circumference yellow lights illuminate from left to right. They were squares of nine, and the correct number lit up when the number was pressed. When Samba pressed the green button, they turned green and flashed as the door unbarred.

"Great," Samba smiled. "Let's go see what hell awaits us in here."

Link chuckled nervously behind him as they entered Melting. As the door closed behind them, the noise level died down a fair bit, hot hissing replacing the metallic clanging. This room was very heat-heavy, but not as abundantly as the main room of Pouring. However, the fact there was pure magma present very nearby made it just as toasty. Melting was more square than Pouring, but still rectangular. Around them, support beams held up the various troughs of melted metal, being of both the straight and slanted varieties wherever appropriate. The molten rivers origiated from a sort of "moat" around a peninsula of a machine. This must have been where the melting occured, as well as sorting out the liquid metal. Bridges spanned across the rivers here. One was more a ramp that went up to the square machine. Looking around the square part of this central object, slanted walls at the corners gave it the overall shape of a curveless fish of sorts. Directly above them was a square platform on its own--probably disconnected from some walkway of sorts. A door on the second floor, the map said, led to it from the west. Apart from a beamos they saw in the southeastern corner, a few other enemies were walking around, two on each of the little islands that formed the southern part of the room and four on the longer strips that made the sides of the room. They were either bokoblins or...

"Alright, that's called the XT23-9A, or 'Cirkitt'," Samba said, pointing at one of the faulty mannequins coming towards them. "It's an older model of the basic human-like mechanoid that is by now in serious need of work. We know what to do: Push 'em off a ledge, spin attack 'em, or boomerang 'em. Just DON'T directly attack with the sword!"

Samba and Link, looking at their map, decided to go along the path before them and take the nearest door. They dealt with any enemies they encountered on the way (three, two being bokoblins) and went into the first door on their left.

This door turned out to be a dead end. They found a quiet, very small room with a wall to their right and two walls of heavy boxes and crates stacked high atop each other to their front and left. They noticed a little shelf high above them that, when they went out against the far box wall, held a large chest. They also noticed that one of the largest boxes up top above them was painted blue on the flat side facing them. Finding nothing they could do, they went out again and then on to the second of the three west-hand doors of Melting (and the only other availible one; the third, farthest north, was barred).

This led them into a very quiet, on its own, room with only a wall made with the close-set supports of a trough. They found no enemies and no resistance between them and the other door. The only other thing of interest in this room was that all four--yes, four--doors were free, even the barred one. This probably meant it was a one-way. Why, they didn't know. All they did know was that they were in a hall between Melting and the room they were going for, one that could (when in full use) allow people to go through on either side of the support beams.

They entered the next room, a considerably-longer-than-wide one the map called "Furnace". As they did, the rings emitted the strange, cryptic tune again. The Furnace in question took up much of the northern part of the room. More close to them was a locked door to the south and to another hall, also the smallest room in Clamor Plant. To their right was the wall of supports. They found more annoying bokoblins and a Cirkitt on each side of them. Link dealt with the 'blins while Samba went to the Cirkitt.

While fighting in the reasonably tight space, Samba, the most western during his duel with the robot, noticed an interesting way to do the supports before they ended. Two angled in a "V" and were in line with the others, but over that one and perpendicular when looking at it from above were two more angled ones making an upside-down "V". The points of the figures were at the same spot, forming the "intersection" of the plus sign they formed. Samba saw a reasonably smart bokoblin hop through the lower "V". 'Good plan,' he thought.

The supports ended not because of a wall, but because of a pool of molten metal with a very durable machine bathed inside it (one covered in stone somehow). When looked at from a side, it was like a simple 3-4-5 right triangle lying on its long leg and made with curves instead of corners. It was really a conveyer chain of sorts. Wide stone buckets were attatched to it and they cycled around, going up the slope and then down the short, vertical leg, scooping up metal before coming up again. When they went over the curve to face down, they dumped metal into the trough above. This metal flowed from there to the machine in Melting to be sorted and added with, if the name meant anything, more melted metal, to go to Pouring. The two were gradually learning about how foundries work as they went on. (Though, working like this probably was exclusive to this one.)

After knocking his Cirkitt into the metal, Samba beckoned and led Link through the legs of the support angle. They continued to defeat the remaining enemies. When that was over with, they heard a clinking from above and to the west. "That sounded like a key," Link raised his eyebrows.

"Or something around that size," Samba shrugged. They looked around more.

On the other side with a clear view, they found the northeastern corner was a big pile of rocks. Edges of a floor tray were visible around it. Next to it was a shaft with four corners and some beam supports being walls. It contained a chest on a raised platform on a piston. Though Samba or Link could easily get to it from the height it was, the supports on the front had fallen and blocked them. Samba stepped back and looked up. "There's an opening on top of the machine there," he pointed. "I bet I can jump down, get what's in there, and jump up again." He looked at the pile of rocks and frowned. "But that's the only way we could get up...it's too steep, though..." Indeed, it was a very steep slope. "If we could clear a portion, all'd be well and good."

"Well, then, let's get started," Link said, making Samba turn. He was holding a red rock above his head, smirking. "They're laying around. Alright..." He looked. "I think we'll have to spark one after throwing it up there on that part on the right." He tested his idea, throwing his rock. It landed perfectly on top.

Samba and Link gathered another rock each and put it up there. Hoping they were touching, Samba cast Fire Pebble and struck the nearest one. It glowed, and the two ducked behind their shields. After a moment, an explosion rocked the rocks away, flying all over. When there were no stones falling among them, the swordsmen looked up and smiled. A sizable hole had been made and the slope was lessened, forming a hill in the northwestern corner of the pile.

Samba led them up the rocks, noticing that some were warmer than others, particularly closer to the machine in the north side they were climbing onto. Now on the second floor, they saw that there was a huge pile of stones on the top of it. They came from a slot in the ceiling. "That's where the ore goes," Link realized. They couldn't reach it, however; the machine had walls on top that held some controls and kept folks at bay from getting on and in trouble. They looked in the front of the machine. A skinny ledge went around, curving at the edge at one point so that the only way to go was on top. Besides, molten metal waterfalled from the curved part into the pool below. The map related this, but it said that it turned a corner around the machine to a wider part. "Must be something there," Link muttered, looking at the minimap on his hand.

"Apart from the key on that part right there?" asked Samba, pointing to a platform above the southwestern corner. On it sat a small key. "But you probably can't get a good jump from the ledge--it's so narrow, you'll fall when you push away from it."

"Look up," Link pointed. They saw an upside-down trough held to the ceiling by telescopic poles. "It looks like, if it's lowered, we could jump over and grab the key," he described.

"Right," nodded Samba. He looked at the shaft in front of them. "Lemme get this chest, first, though..."

"Wait, we'll use Sync Mode again," planned Link. "I think your feet are too big for that ledge--I'll get across it and see if there's a switch to hit. Then, you go and jump and get the key. Since you're going solo for a sec anyway, we might as well not waste any time."

This was agreed to be a smart idea, and Sync Mode was activated once more. Samba dropped down to the chest and opened it, resulting in a series of sounds that made Link stop and turn, carrying a perfect, "Huh??" face while he stayed in the position he had taken to begin sidling--legs spread and arms around the corner of the machine, body close against it.

Thump. Creeeak. "--RRRUUH??"

"What is it?" Link called over his shoulder.

Samba grabbed the edge of the machine before pulling himself up again. He walked over and brought out the item he recieved. It was a grey burlap bag of metal things that looked complicated to them. The Roman numeral III was on it in red ink. (Hyrule didn't know the Romans, so they only used I, II, and III, since, most of the time, you would have to be more than just a bit clueless not to realize they mean 1, 2, and 3.) "Think it's garbage?" he asked, raising an eyeridge.

"It was in a chest that was marked by the compass," Link shrugged. "If the rings are showing it to us, it's probably important. I mean, I think I saw a chest that looked like the others in the smithy, but it wasn't marked by the compass. We've gotten on so far without whatever it had, so..."

"Right, we'll keep it," Samba nodded uncertainly, putting it away. "Maybe Sarbog can explain." He smirked slyly and thumbed down the ledge, transferring the Master Sword simultaneously. "Now stop doing lewd acts to the machine and get going."

Link was confused for a second at this before he realized his position, making him blush and glare at Samba, who laughed. "Yeah, you're still a bit evil in there," Link said, rolling his eyes.

"We all are," Samba said quietly, though still chortling a bit.

Link sidled along the ledge, forcing himself to NOT look down and to take the corner slowly and carefully. His brow was damp, making his blonde bangs stick to it. The question entered his mind, 'Why aren't my bangs burnt to a crisp in this heat, yet?' but he shook it off mentally. He breathed a sigh of relief when he got around the corner and onto ample footing again. "Why was it so much easier when it was hundreds of feet above the ground?" he asked nobody.

"Hey, you didn't have to be afraid," called Samba. "I told you to not hide before because I planned to switch and hide if I was about to hit the metal. That would save me. You could've done the same, probably, Sync Mode or not."

Link nodded, hearing this. 'That's a good plan,' he thought. He looked and saw, indeed, a crystal switch. "Alright, get ready," he called before striking it. With a chunk! sound, the trough cover lowered onto the long tray.

Samba got the Master Sword as his signal to go and was off, jumping off an edge that was in a space between the shaft and the ledge. He dashed across and jumped up to the key's platform. "Gotcha!" he hissed in victory as he grabbed the small key and looked at it in his paw. "Alright, lemme try coming down again," he said as he hopped down and ran across again. During this time period, they heard a clocklike sound from somewhere. It was getting faster and faster. Seconds after it was as fast as it could go, it stopped and the cover lifted. Samba rolled off of it and landed on the machine again as it came up. "WHEW!"

They ended Sync Mode and Link complimented his actions, if a bit worriedly. They then went down to the first floor once more. Samba went around and got to the locked door.

They entered into a room that was relatively high-ceilinged, but very tight and narrow--the smallest room in the dungeon. It was made to just be a hallway between two rooms that were so close together, they could have almost shared the same wall. Why it was so wide, they didn't know. However, they were later rather thankful for it.

The door barred itself behind them when Link came through. They looked back in alarm at this before looking forwards.

Samba looked up and instantly growled, but didn't draw his weapon. "Get back, Link!" Link looked over his shoulder, then raised his eyebrows and got by the lizalfos.

A creature was falling from a grating in the ceiling that it had slammed open. It was big and wide, it appeared, and after it SLAMMED to the ground, it suddenly leaped up HIGH, almost covering as much vertical distance as it had just fallen. After it landed, debris fell off of it. As it did, two long, pointed, rabbit-like ears popped up and the creature shook itself. It appeared to be a giant blob of cream fur, glaring with beady little eyes at them. It then began to jump forcefully in seemingly random directions, the first being towards a wall. It jumped very high, but only one floor; its round body bounced it off of the wall. It appeared four small feet were on the bottom, concealed at first by long hair, like for some domestic breeds of dogs.

"Okay, WHAT is THAT?" Link asked, watching it carefully as it fell. It made a dull thud on landing before jumping in another direction. He had already drawn his sword.

"It's a Pols Voice," answered Samba, watching intently, as well. "It's a creature that is smaller than you think; most of what we're seeing is very dense fat beneath extremely durable hide, which together make anything bounce off of it; not even the Master Sword can cut it. It uses its invulnerable nature and high weight to its advantage by jumping randomly with powerful legs, confusing and intimidating prey until they collide with it mid-jump." He frowned. "You know, I dunno why it's here of all places," he added, a bit puzzled.

"ROLL!" Link ordered, and they rolled forwards to avoid it before it crushed them. They turned after getting up again. "Outta curiousity, why?" Link couldn't help asking.

"Well," Samba grunted, jumping aside to let the thing through, "it absolutely hates loud noises, since its ears are very sensitive. Then, well, this room's relatively quiet..." He sighed, a little sad, now. "I know these things are agressive in the wild, but they're adorable pets if you can tame them from birth," he commented. "There are a couple at home."

Link's face lit up in insight. "Music soothes the savage beast, you know," he told Samba.

Samba raised his eyeridges, then grinned, narrowing them again as he looked at Link. "You musta read my mind," he chuckled. "Almost forgot about that detail!"

"C'mon, corner! It has less chance of landing there!" Link beckoned, and they trotted to the southeastern corner, then turned again, facing the behemoth bouncing around. "Quick! Zelda's Lullaby!" Sheathing the Master Sword and his Hylian Shield quickly, Link whipped out his ocarina. Samba produced his guitar, and together, the two counted off quickly before playing the first few notes of the tune to get in sync.

The Pols Voice bounced...and landed VERY close, turning and facing them next. Since they had just gotten into sync (without Sync Mode), their focus allowed them to ignore the minor shockwave that came a foot from the thing.

Then the song began to play fully. The Pols Voice stopped, widening its eyes before squeezing them shut and pressing its ears to its skull like people would put their hands to their own ears, twisting left and right violently. When Link and Samba finished, opening their eyes, they were worried it didn't work.

However, the Pols Voice stopped, perked its ears again, and looked up at them, blinking with wide eyes. It bobbed up and down in place, not doing any more bouncing for the moment, it appeared. Now that it was close to them, they found it was about four feet tall and who knows how heavy.

When they finished playing, Link noticed both doors clunked, unbarring. "That did it!" he exclaimed in surprise and minor triumph.

The Pols Voice's eyes shifted as if it were frowning, ears flattening again, and it slid away from Link. Samba frowned and shushed Link before turning to it, soothing it in Lizalfos. "There, there, he didn't mean to," he said to it, petting it comfortingly with a smile. He crouched down to it, getting eye level with it as he scritched behind an ear. "Link's just a little excited that we can get out of this room. It's alright." It slowly unflattened them, eyes returning to normal. Samba smiled benevolently. "There, see? Samba's right," he told it gently, and the creature flopped its ears cutely. Samba chuckled. "Now, calm down, and don't let the noise here get to you, okay?" he asked, tilting his head. The Pols Voice bobbed up and down happily. Samba grinned and nodded. "Good! Go on and get out of this dangerous place, you smart little thing, okay?" He stood and patted it on the head. "Invulnerable or not, you can still turn into a fur-and-blubber pancake by these heavy things around here."

The Pols Voice appeared to understand, bobbing forwards and back. Then, it turned and began hopping off, going in a certain direction and at a reasonable hopping height. It was actually quite adorable as it went over a far wall, where a grating was in middle reach. It stopped a couple feet before the wall and bounced up and up and then finally, making a very small slam as it came down to the floor again, bounding up to it at the right angle. It slammed into it, richocheting away and landing again. It shook itself and tried again, sure it could do it. Samba stood, paws on hips and smile on face while watched it go. Link watched the scene with interest. "You're very good with those things," he commented, impressed, afterwards. Samba turned sharply to look at his arms-crossed slouch, smile vanishing from his face...though a blush soon spread across it instead. Link laughed and shook his head. "Hey, don't be embarressed! I won't think little of you for liking cute monsters!"

"Sorry, I've always loved those things," Samba confessed (in Hylian), grinning sheepishly and holding a paw up while rubbing the back of his head with the other. He sighed contentedly, looking up in remembrance and lowering his paws. "Hmmm, oh, to hug the little guys, and to ride them when I was younger," he recollected. He frowned, still looking up. "Then...the other kids said I shouldn't ride them or go near them anymore because my big feet and blue scales scared them since they were so different..."

Link frowned, sympathetic. He actually suddenly felt a little guilty that he had no strange physical features to be made fun of for.

"But then, one day, D--someone told me not to worry and to go ahead and play with the pet Pols Voices," he continued, going soft as he muttered, head coming down again. He was thinking aloud more than recounting, now, and Link had to take a step or two closer to hear him over the noise. Samba chuckled and looked up, smiling. "Hey, don't worry about my stupid childhood," he told him, waving a paw. "Let's get going. We've got to get over to the Power room, don't we?" He pointed to the south door.

Link, although curious to learn more about this "stupid" childhood, nodded, knowing that business comes before pleasure. 'I'll ask him some other time,' he thought.

Samba turned and started walking off, but stopped when he turned to find the Pols Voice sitting down, it appeared. It was slumped over, panting slightly, ears flopped over, in a spot on the floor, where Samba recognized it landed each time it bounced off of the grating (which, Link assumed later on, was to a ventilation system).

"Uh-oh," Samba went under his breath, eyeridges up. He came over to the Pols Voice, worried. "Hey, little guy, you alright?" he asked it in Lizalfos, bending knee and putting a paw on its back. It just flopped its ears at him in a slight not.

Link raised an eyebrow, examining the grating. It appeared to be very strong, composed of iron rods as thick as his finger welded together stretched across a large, square frame. This frame was nailed onto the wall only at the corners. "I bet if we pulled on it hard enough, we could get it off, like the Pols Voice did when it came down from the other side of one," Link said over his shoulder. He then spotted the old grating lying on the floor and noticed something different right away. The one he was right next to appeared to be made with good-condition metal, whereas the other one was rusted. As well, they were in different patterns.

Not only that, but, if he looked hard enough, he saw that the nails on the corners of the wall grating were each fairly big and had an "N" engraved on it, the diagonal going out to the edges of the head. Red was painted in the grooves of the lines.

"What is it?" Samba asked, looking up at his friend's thinking face. "Is there something keeping us from just grabbing it and pulling it off?"

"Maybe," Link replied, walking over and examining the other grating. "...I think this one's a little older than the other," he said, holding it up. "It's rusty. That might be why the Pols Voice could come through. That, and the nails appear to be smaller...as well as not having the same etching over there..." He carried a nail while walking over there. "...Yeah," he confirmed, close to it. He held a nail and looked at its reddish head and then at the grey and red head of the other. He held it up closer. "It's plain and smaller. Whuh--!" He jumped back as the nail in his hand flew out and attatched itself to the nail he was nearby. "What on--?!"

"It's...It's sticking on," Samba marveled in wonder. Indeed, the two heads were sticking to each other. He grabbed it and tugged it off, then kept a good grip on it while he pulled it away slowly. "I feel a force...What is it?" he wondered aloud.

"Well, whatever it is," Link said, making them turn to each other, "I don't think this guy can get out easily without hopping up to that hole it made above."

Samba looked up, frowning. "Yeah, I think it'd've tried it," he agreed. He looked in worry at the Pols Voice, now back to normal (if a bit concerned, itself). "Don't worry, little guy, I'll find a way to get you out," he assured it in Lizalfos. "But we can't do anything right now. It looks a bit too strong, even if both of us pulled at once. Just stay in here and try not to hurt yourself on these rusty nails." He tossed his aside to a corner.

The Pols Voice bobbed, ears flopping as it "nodded".

"Right." Samba looked at the other door. "Let's get going." He led Link through the door and into another room. To their disgruntlement, the door barred itself again.

Before them was a room with lots of crates, some open and showing random pieces of metal, many of which appeared to be items at once point. One close to their left appeared to be scalable, as were a pair a crate's length away and against the right (west) wall. All three were made of metal, had handle holes cut into the sides, and were closed. The rest were wooden. It looked like Samba, or even Link, could probably jump from the one on the left to one directly south two crates' length away, which appeared to be high enough to consider it part of the second floor. He could then jump over to another little wall of three of these boxes. All of them were thankfully closed on top or full in a stable way, so his footpaws wouldn't be hurt.

What was notable was that the room on the map was bigger than it looked. This was because there was a gigantic wall of boxes and crates fencing in the majority of the northeastern corner. They couldn't possibly get on top of them. They looked quite familiar, actually. "It's that dead-end we found from Melting," Link realized, looking at the map. The room was called Metal Storage.

"Well, it looks like there's a balcony on the second floor in the southeastern corner, and it looks like the door there leads to that chest we found," Samba pointed and path-traced with his claw. He looked over at the metal crate. "Interesting," he muttered, brow furrowing. "So different..." He shrugged and jumped on top of it. Right before he jumped off the edge to get to the second-floor crate stack, he was LAUNCHED straight at the stack! Instead of going up at the angle he wanted, he crashed right into it comically, limbs splayed and everything, making it rock a little. As he came down, he grunted and turned in midair to face what was changing from a box into something else. He landed on his feet and drew the Master Sword. "I should've known!" he spat.

"Sneaky things, aren't they?" Link asked, drawing his sword as well as the other two "metal crates" changed, too. They extended two sides to act as arms, they opened their hinged bottoms to let out two very short legs, and a head popped up from the top like a jack in the box. A large, thick-glassed camera was the only thing on the hunk of metal. As they stood, their fronts and backs flapped out, hinged at the top, for a moment before they slapped them down again with clawlike hands that extended from the sides, turning those into bucklers. Sharp-cornered bucklers.

The split bottom sides served as feet for them to balance themselves on as they hobbled over at moderate-slow speed. They raised their arms in front of them, ready to fight. Before Samba could talk, he had to defend himself as the one he had been on faced him and quickly twisted its "shields" perpendicular to the floor and lowered its arms to its sides, turning them with the corners out. Without a moment to spare, it jabbed at him. It would have hurt a fair bit with the point coming at him if Samba hadn't been guarding himself. He was pushed slightly off-balance on the first hit but could recover in time to block the second it. Well, that's if he could aim with his buckler better. Taking advantage of the blocking tool's small size, the second punch landed right in Samba's front, making him cry in pain. He growled and sidejumped away.

Link, meanwhile, was ducking to avoid a spinning assault from the one that had gotten nearest him. "What are these and how do we hit them?" he asked. "Arrows don't work on their cameras!"

"These are XT23-1N's, 'Collapsabots' in Hylian," answered Samba, keeping up his backing away from danger for the moment. "They're stealthy suckers who can hide to become tough-shelled boxes, then pop out and attack. They're a little slow, but fast punches and a spinning attack gives them impressive range. There's supposed to be something about their metal that makes them so sturdy..." He narrowed his eyes, looking at the one coming at him.

Link was doing the same. "...Is it just me," he said, then grunted and blocked a one-two. "Or is their metal slightly red?"

"I think you're right," Samba nodded. He had an idea. "'Rang their heads to stun them quick!" he instructed before yipeing and ducking to avoid both a punch from his and a spinning attack from the third, who had decided to come over to him since Link was occupied.

Link nodded, then shoved with his shield when it punched at him. Both were knocked back, but, since the hylian was against a wall, only the Collapsabot was repelled. Taking the time it took it to get back, Link whipped out his boomerang again and targeted the three heads. He let fly.

Comically, the heads spun around for a moment when the boomerang struck them, making them lower thier arms and stop. It appeared to take a little while before they reached up and grabbed their "hats" to make them stop spinning, and then a little more while they lowered their arms once more, a shutter making them "blink".

Right before they could attack again, though, Samba, who had retreated to the far end of the room (with Link in tow), threw his Fire Pebble. It hit the closest one. He soon had combo-thrown two more at the other two. They had convienently turned about to face them right before contact. When the pebbles sparked against their fronts, their arms came in as all four sides flew up, an annoying beeping sound emitting from them. They saw a mess of wiring and other delicate workings inside them.

Wasting no time, the two warriors rushed out and attacked. They stayed open for only one combo's worth after they got to them, the time of which was another combo's worth. They repeated the process, Link boomeranging them and Samba readying three Fire Pebbles. After two more combos each, the two they had targeted stopped beeping, instead making all sorts of boops and squeaks as they rocked back, heads spinning as their non-box parts flashed red. They snapped forth after the apex of their lean, extending all their parts with a power-down-like bloop before slamming together again. First they came to the ground, putting their "feet" together. Next, the left arm snapped in, prompting the back flap to shut, closing itself around before slamming its head in. All of this was done in close, equal rhythm. A half second after closing all the way, they shook and let out a muffled BOOM, smoke soon coming from the hand holes. They smoked for a few moments.

The third joined them after Samba used the last of his magic power to cast Fire Pebble once more on it. Both stood panting for a moment before flourishing their weapons, sheathing them. "That was interesting," Link said briskly to Samba, turning his head.

"I can't wait until we can do something to take care of them quicker," Samba groaned. He looked around at the three things that were now crates free to be pushed and jumped onto. He nodded and got behind one. He pushed hard, and it moved after some effort. He labored it to the wall of unscalable boxes, then against the second-floor-reaching crate stack he had been trying to reach before. He jumped up on top of it, then jumped again to the second-floor crates. Link watched from below as the lizalfos hopped over to the lower crate-wall. "C'mon," Samba called.

Link hid, but was unable to be let out, for some reason; they remembered seeing that the room was bordered by dark violet, like the compass room was and suspected that had something to do with it. (The others were in green, as normal.) So, Link simply came out as his wingless-fairy form. They saw the other part of the impassable wall of containers. In about the spot the blue block was before, a red one was there instead. They gathered it was dual-colored, but hadn't the slightest idea why. Ahead of them to the east was a small balcony with a ladder, a door facing them. It was about as wide as the big, red/blue block it lined up with, with both against the wall and at the same height (on the bottom). It was also too far away from them for Samba to get there in one jump. He'd at best hit the upper quarter of the ladder. To the south along the wall was an exposed pipe...no, a cable, they gathered, because it was faintly slack. It looked strong enough to hand-over-hand (or paw-over-paw) across from the crates to the balcony. However, electricity sparked around it, detering the two from trying.

"Well, if all else fails, we can hop down from the balcony in Melting," Link shrugged when Samba noticed the one-way trip. Samba sighed and nodded.

The lizalfos ran and jumped to the metal ladder, grunting as he caught onto it. He climbed up and onto the balcony, then opened the door.

Back in Melting, he found himself on a balcony right next to a trough full of molten metal. It was cordoned off by railings. In front of him, however, he saw a big chest. His eyes grew big with delight, wondering what was inside. He went over and opened it. He gasped at what he saw inside.

A scroll of that same parchment from the same unidentifiable monster's hide sat at the bottom, wrapped with a thin, bow-tied ribbon that was white in the middle, fading to a color at the sides. On one was red and on another was blue. He held it out and looked in wonder at it. "It's another spell!" he whispered.

"A spell? Like Fire Pebble?" Link checked, still out of his ring.

Samba nodded. Worried it might be unsafe in there, he returned to the other room and read it by the electric lights above. Like before, while his eyes looked at the writing, a burst of light shot from the parchment and struck him. Again, a vision came, which Link was not privy to. He saw himself as if looking at a mirror. His claws were bent in clawing pose, and they were crackling with light blue lightning, which was slowly getting stronger. Then, after a couple seconds, he let his paws be normal. They were still covered in lightning, though. Another flash came, this time bringing him to an over-the-shoulder look. He was standing, holding his right paw out. He bent his claws and lightning again wrapped around his paw. This time, two geas appeared around his wrist, colored red and rotating around clockwise while trailing a thin line of electricity. He let that paw down and brought up the other, already electrifying it. As soon as it was up, blue (normal blue) geas appeared around his wrist, circling the other way. Then, he brought both forth and together, heels of his paws together in horizontal kamehameha position. The four geas turned violet and traveled about his wrists in a figure eight, going up between to go the direction they had been taking before. Then, the geas disappeared as he slowly turned his paws to make a sort of cage with his claws. One that looked almost like a spiral. Lightning gathered up in the middle before firing out in a bolt in front.

After this lengthy vision, Samba blinked to find himself looking at the scroll in his paws, which made him have to blink again to be sure they were not electrified. "What happened?" asked Link.

"I got a vision, like last time," Samba explained. He then looked at the Lizalfos writing, reading aloud the other information. "The Volt Claw Spell. This spell allows you to surround your paws in lightning--electricity. This has myriad uses. First and foremost, whilst your paws are electrified, you may safely grip electrified objects and electricity in general--but not too much; the spell does not allow you to hold vast quantities of electricity before it harms you. You will know instinctively how much you have left and how much you have to go before overloading. You may also hold your paws up to use magnetism. Your right paw holds north and your left, south." (These two directions were in red and blue ink, respectively. As well, all words about magnets had "magnet" spelled just like that--there was no Lizalfos word for it, so it only used the Lizalfos alphabet for the word and spelled it the same. The pre-/suffixes were the same Lizalfos ones.) "Holding both out cancels them out to become straight magnetism that is unable to interact with other magnets, but it doubles the magnetic power. Remember: Opposites attract. Also, making a coil with one's claws allows one to fire a short blast of charged electricity forwards, charging real coils with power."

"That was quite the mouthful," Link commented as Samba, raising an eyeridge, rolled it up and retied it before putting it with the scroll for Fire Pebble. "How do you use it, then?"

"Well, like this, I presume," Samba said, holding still and letting his paws to his sides. He cast the spell and found that it only began consuming magic power, which he had restored with a small magic bottle found on the balcony in Melting, after he curled his claws. Electricity swam around his paws, and he immediately felt something like a canister of sorts in his chest fill slowly up with electricity. It rose faster than his magic power sank (which was moderately slowly), and as it did, his paws became more intensely electrified. He shut it off after a half second. The electricity slowly fell again. While it did, he looked over at the cable to his left, hanging across the south wall. He nodded and went over. "Here goes," he said before jumping up and grabbing it.

He was shocked, of course.

But it didn't hurt. Instead, he felt both his electric power and his magic power rise. The magic stopped after it reached the point it had been before when he first cast it, but his electric power kept rising. He let it get halfway before dropping to the balcony again to look in wonder at his paws. "Such...Such POWER," he marveled. "I can feel it in my whole body! It's amazing...but scary. I know I've got a limit before it starts to hurt me. But until then...wow..." He clenched his paws, which made the electricity flow more dramatically about them. It looped around his wrist, it arced along and across the metal parts of his gauntlets, it poked out from the sides of his fists.

"..."

"Reh?" Samba looked at Link. "What?"

"..." Link looked away. "I...don't think that's quite the treasure they talked about..." he muttered.

Samba widened his eyes, smirking, before he burst out laughing. A spark jumped between his fangs while he did. "You're JEALOUS!!" he declared, pointing a claw at Link.

Link flitted back, both in emotion and to avoid a string-thin tongue of lightning that came from his clawtip. "N-no, I'm not!" he fought back, sounding affronted.

Samba chuckled, crossing his arms. He lost some of his bravado for a second when he realized what he'd just done, starting, before it occured to him that he'd've felt it by then and he regained his sly composure. "You're jealous I just got a cool little toy and you haven't yet," he teased.

"Well...Do you even know how to fully USE them??" Link asked hotly.

"Heh, sorry, Link, I couldn't resist," Samba apologized, shaking his head and holding a paw up. The lightning was fading--he was running low on power. "I...think I do, 'cept..." He frowned, thinking. "What's magnetism?" he asked.

Link looked a little better after that, but he bobbed in a slight curve, sort of shrugging. "I haven't a clue," he replied. "Hmmm...North and south..." He looked at the red block. "...Opposites attract..."

Samba dropped from the cable, having recharged his power for free, when he heard what Link said. "What about...Wait." He stepped forwards and then, readying the spell in his mind, stopped, deciding it best to hold still when handling electricity. He held his left paw up and clenched his claws. Strangely, he experienced only a drain in electric power, not magic. 'Must be because I have some electric power left instead of starting it from scratch while holding out.' As he used electricty, depleting it faster than it did when he was idle, the blue geas appeared around his wrist.

And, to his amazement, the block he aimed at began to pull out to him.

Link watched in awe for a second before he squeaked and flew in front of his face, turning his blue scales teal. "Stop! The other way! Push it in!!" he ordered urgently.

"Ryaaaugh! Not in the muzzle, Link!" Samba yelled, stopping and waving his paws in front of his face. Link apologized and backed off. "Well, I think I know what 'opposites attract' mean, now," Samba held his right paw out and used electricity.

"I knew it!" Link crowed when the block pushed forwards. "Red is north, while blue is south, and when you aim them at each other, you and what you're aiming at pull together, while aiming the same results in pushing."

Samba nodded, running out of elecricity just before the block was halfway on and halfway off. "I did feel myself being pulled and pushed before and had to brace myself," he described. He then held his right paw out again, casting the spell once more. As he thought, magic power was used instead, and no electricity was added to his body. 'I should remember this...' He used only enough to send the block tipping over and down to the floor there. He discovered, as well, that the balcony and the spot that block was at were within jumping distance between them. So, taking a running leap, he jumped over to the crates the block had been on. He first checked and estimated he could jump back up again from both the ground to the block and from the block to the crates. Then he dropped down and, taking another running jump, grabbed onto the edge of the metal balcony holding another large chest.

Link and Samba both cheered in happiness at what they found. "A Piece of Heart!!" they announced joyfully as Samba beheld it. "Now we've got..." Samba looked back in memory before grinning excitedly. "...FIVE!"

"That means we've finally assembled a Heart Container!" Link bobbed up and down excitedly.

"Alright..." Samba closed his eyes, then, flashing in reddish pink light, the four other Heart Pieces came out of his body (as leader, he carried them with him). He watched as they floated in a five-pointed circle, the newest rising to be on the top. After floating, each one rotating at the same time, they converged in the center to be a Heart Container. This hung in midair before Samba brought it into his body. The power glowed over him and around Link's orb. The rings pulsed with red-pink light. "...There," Samba smiled, holding his chest.

"Did you HAVE to make it so dramatic?" Link asked.

"Why not?" Samba asked, playfully raising an eyeridge. "Alright, we're all chipper with full strength and another Heart Container! Time to get going again!" He shook his fists resolutely as he spoke.

"Right!" Link "nodded", or bobbed up and down. He hid again and watched Samba jump across and get to the other balcony again. He recast Volt Claw and jumped up to the cable. Then, as soon as he had a good grip, he went paw-over-paw to the other side and dropped. Samba felt himself about three fifths full of electricity. 'Why aren't we going to Melting?' wondered the hylian. 'This is the long way. Why go there after getting...oh.' He felt a little stupid. 'I would've done the same thing, test out my new item. Well, spell, in this case.'

Samba went through the door and let Link out. He was relieved to see the Pols Voice still there. He smiled and waved at it. "Hey, you still alright, little guy?" he asked in Lizalfos. The Pols Voice bobbed, nodding. "Good!" smiled the lizalfos. "I think I know how to help you, now..." He turned and looked at the grating. He peered, seeing flecks of red, and then held his left paw up. Still having electricity left from the last room, he was able to use it for "free". At first, he thought nothing was happening. Then, he realized that the nails were slowly coming out.

"Hey, those are...I think those are screws," Link said, looking around at them. "Yeah, they're threaded! You're pulling on them straight out but not touching them, making them twist out!"

Samba grinned as he finally got them all out. Just in time, too, since he ran out of magic. (He found some more in the jars by the door out later.) The screws fell jangling to the floor, falling a bit forwards as they tried to go to his paw. The grating was now ready to be pulled off. He smiled and trotted over to it, grabbing it and, after bracing his big footpaws against the walls to help, got it off--flinging himself away in the process. BAHNG! "Raaaaugh--G'OOF!" Whunt!....CLANG-clahnga!

The Pols Voice looked ecstatic. It jumped up and down in place, eyes shut as if smiling, before hopping over to Samba. It stopped, looking at him. Samba, on his bum, looked back, smiling. "Heh, you can leave, now," he told it in Lizalfos. He smirked. "Toldja I'd get you outta here."

The Pols Voice looked carefully at him for a moment, nose twitching, then bowed, flopping its ears to the floor before turning and, after crouching, leaping into the vents, where it disappeared.

Samba stood up, smiling after it with a raised eyeridge. He put his paws on his hips and slouched. "Interesting little bugger," he muttered in Hylian. "Let alone more cute than usual."

Link looked at the vent. 'I wonder where it'll go. Hopefully somewhere safe.' He turned to the exit. "Well, we'd better get going to find a way into that power room," he said.

Samba nodded and trotted over to the door, opening it. "Where to, you think?" he asked over his shoulder.

"You remember how you can safely grip electrified objects?" Link checked.

"Yeah." They went into the hallway between the furnace and Melting.

"Well, I recall seeing some electrified objects back in Pouring, such as some bars on the second floor that would prevent you from hopping a gap to an open door." They turned south to Pouring.

Samba raised his eyeridges, "That's right! I forgot!" He nodded. "Alright, then, let's get over onto the catwalk."

They ignored any enemies they could and re-entered the hub of Clamor Plant. By then, they were becoming used to the noise. A ways in front of them, they noticed that there was actually an intact ladder leading up to the catwalk. So, Link hiding, Samba climbed his way up it. He got up and onto the catwalk before looking about.

He was right next to a river of metal again, but without any railings. Well, there appeared to be evidence of an old railing, but, like much of the intrastructure, it was broken off by the monsters. Only a nub remained on the south end. It was hidden by the side of a large machine of sorts sitting there. (Above the machine hung enough exposed wiring that Samba could not be able to jump over or use Volt Claw to make things safe.) Further examination (leaning VERY close around the side, precariously over the metal and a gap that came from a curve in the trough) revealed that it was actually something originally embedded in the wall, but it was rotated 90 degrees, causing a block. He saw the same sort of machine, half of it broken entirely off, sticking out from the catwalk on the other side, and remembered seeing it before.

At his big feet, probably what stopped the pulled-out machine from a full rotation, was a crystal switch that was like the kind they'd seen before..."It's the same as when we watered the gorons," Samba described, crouching to look closer. "It's not smooth--it's faceted, like a dragonfly's eye but finer. You have to look close unless the light's hitting it right and causing a triangle to shine."

Link, coming out in his ball of light form, added, "It's larger, too, than most crystal switches. Guess we can identify the ones we have to hit in unison, now, eh?"

"Yeah," Samba agreed, nodding to his partner. He straightened. "Well, I think we're stuck going the long way around," he said, pointing down and tracing the path they had to go now.

So, they went. Samba advised Link to remain in his ring or ball of light form before he made his way. First, he had to wait until a mold had moved out of the way for him to jump across the molten rock stream. He had to then go onto a metal, pitlike square that the mold stopped over the center of to recieve metal from a bucket above. It made a loud HISSSSS! as the hot, fluid solid tried to melt and burn the sand, but to no avail. Samba had to wait for molds to get out of the way each time he had to jump, since he was going towards them, now, but he made it.

Jumping from the north part of the room to the south across the part of the pit with the smallest distance across (as well as the least obstructions), Samba scooted away before the beamos statue by the door there got him. (This was the door to the stairwell with the trap.) He managed to make his way across the gigantic room to the ladder. He climbed up and saw what Link had described.

Indeed, nearby and a hop up was a round bar covered in some exposed wiring that they could both swing around...were it not for the electricity about it. Ahead (facing north) was the back side of the machine that, if the wires connecting it and the wall meant anything, WAS pulled out. Above the gap across was another bar. "I bet you could jump up, swing, build up enough speed, and launch to the other bar and catch it," Link described.

Samba looked below, noticing a beamos and the pit were his prize should he jump a short distance from the bar. "How about you come out so I can zip up to you if I fall?" he suggested, taking Link's ring off and tossing it behind him.

Link, after materializing, nodded. "Good luck," he said, stepping back to let Samba get up. Before anything else, though, they were reminded there were archers up there.

After sniping the snipers, Link stepped back again and Samba stepped under the first bar, looking up. "Alright, here goes," he said, and he cast Volt Claw, charging it for a half-second before hopping up with arms high and claws open. As he thought, there was enough power in his paws to safely last the trip from catwalk to bar as he grabbed it. It was a little strange to grip the bar and the wire around it, but his paws were big enough to compensate. So, before he could overload from the power feeding him from the pole, he started to swing--forth, back, and with a mighty double kick forth again into a lizalfos that could now go over the bar. He continued a couple times, building up speed, until he was swinging as fast as he could. Then, like a gymnast, he dismounted forwards, doing a backflip in the air from momentum. He came up again with paws out and ready, like a monster pouncing down from above. He grabbed (to his relief) the next bar and continued his swing, the momentum letting him instantly be able to go into a full rotation. Once around the bar and he backflipped down to the catwalk with very live paws after the Prince impersonation was over. One more second of gripping would have overloaded the spell and harmed him. The metal on his gauntlets fizzled with power nearly blindingly. Samba gazed at his paws and the intense might they held as it slowly faded away.

He kept marveling at his paws while Link hid again to get on the side he had gotten to. Link came out in his ball of light. "Hey," he said. Samba looked at him before nodding and letting him out, then turning to his paws again. Link clapped. "Great job with the gymnastics!" he praised.

Samba gave a small smile and chuckle before coming over and showing Link his paws, still brimming with power. "Look at this, it's amazing," he described.

Link had to admit, it was very spectacular. "Can you feel the power in your body?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. 'That why he looks so strange right now?'

Samba nodded. "Yas. It's...both frightening and exciting, both pleasing and wakening," he described, gesticulating with great effect from his state. When his claws came close, electricity often arced between them. He frowned in worry at the bar behind him. "What if I need to hang on to one of those for a long time?" he wondered. "Maybe...Grrmm..."

"Well, when you're ready," Link said, leaning against the door. Samba's electricity petered out after about four more seconds. When that was done, he turned to the door and opened it, the two coming through. To a pair of groans, the door shut tight behind them with bars blocking its reopening.

They faced west. They appeared to be on a balcony, since they saw stairs leading down to the first floor a bit to their left and railing directly in front of them. A pace or so away right, the path went forwards again, this time edged on the right with a solid wall. An open door sat at the end of this path. To their direct right, there appeared to be a plain, metal wall at the end of the path. The kind of bar wall that projectiles could be launched through was visible, as well, and was north-to-south, lined up with the railing in front of them. There were no enemies up there in the rectangular room that was longer north-to-south than east-to-west.

Link walked over to the bars and looked through. He raised his eyebrows at the sight. "Huh?" There appeared to be three normal crystal switches arranged in a triangle past the bars. Each one stood on a foot-tall square pedestal with a different-colored border painted on it. The one on Link's left (southern-most) was blue, the middle was red, and the right one (northern-most) was green. "Interesting," he muttered, Samba stopping by him.

"...Aren't those the same colors as our rings?" Samba asked, pointing at them.

"Hmmm..."

Link got his boomerang out and targeted them in order. When Samba saw this, the lizalfos trotted over to the stairs to look out, ready to see if anything would happen down there. What he saw surprised him for its simplicity: The stairs went down west, around a corner landing, then down north. In the general corner of the stairs sat a single beamos. The locked door from before was to the east at the far, northern side, and across from it stood another closed door. The only other thing of note were three little panels on the floor arranged in a triangle. Samba tilted his head. "Why so...?" he murmured.

Link threw his boomerang at his targets and named them off as his item flew to strike them one by one. "Power...Wisdom...Courage..." He caught it and looked around.

BRRRRRRRT!

A loud, odd horn that described the word "WRONG!" without speaking sounded. The switches, which had illuminated yellow, went out again. "Link!" Samba called, pointing. "The first floor, Camera Kee--se?"

Below, coming from the three panels that slid open from a split in the middle, were three things that APPEARED to be Camera Keese, but upon further inspection, they were merely metal objects with Camera Keese spinning blades. They were also larger and appeared sturdier. As well, each one was a different color at its core--red, blue, or green. They began flying about aimlessly on the first floor.

Link ran over and looked, catching the panels closing. "Those...look a bit different from Camera Keese," he raised an eyebrow. "For one, Camera Keese aren't that brightly-colored..."

Samba raised his eyeridges. "Hey, I wonder if they have anything to do with the switches," he turned his head to Link.

Link put a hand to his chin. "I bet they do...Alright, how about we fight them off, then?" he suggested. He frowned at the beamos. "I bet they're too hard for our ranged weapons..."

Samba nodded and began leading down the stairs before something occurred to him. "Hold," he said, stopping and holding his paw behind him. He turned. "What if it's an order-type thing?" he wondered. "Both of us fighting might make us defeat two at the same time, and that would complicate things, or we could defeat them one after the other but not know the true order. Besides, I bet they're easy enough for one, anyway."

"...I was wondering the same thing," Link agreed, crossing his arms. "You're still leader, so you go, if you want."

Samba nodded and went down while Link stayed behind. Apparantly, the new enemies had no way of seeing him, let alone anything else. Thankfully, they merely bounced back from each other and walls and even the beamos. This wasn't exactly a blessing, though, since Samba had to get the last one (each one could go down in one hit with the Master Sword) near the beamos. He was lucky they were at a height that he could get them at with a running slash. Afterwards, he scooted back upstairs, out of range of the beamos, and met Link on the landing. "I'll stay down here if it goes wrong again so we can switch quickly," he said. He made Link leader. "You go up and try blue, green, red."

"Alright," Link nodded, and he went up. At the bars again, he got his 'rang out and targeted. "Blue...green...red!" he named with each acquisition before firing his homing weapon. This time, after he caught his boomerang (which banged against a bar, flying back before doing as tight a turn it could and going through the gap it missed), no buzzer sounded and Samba reported nothing but a beamos making itself dizzy down there. Link didn't hear it very well, though, since the "wall" at the northern end of the floor slid up into the ceiling, revealing itself to be a somewhat broad shutter. As well, the barred door on the top floor unbarred itself. Link looked up and saw the shutter was really metal covering an inch-thick layer of what appeared to be clay, judging by the coloring. When he looked back to see what was behind there--there was no chest on the map in the room at all--he was a bit surprised and confused. "A...a spring?" he asked, furrowing his brow and tilting his head.

Samba came over and raised his eyeridges. "A...coil..." He held his chin. "'...charging real coils with power'..." He walked over to it, telling Link to step aside a moment. He then stood in front of the switch and held his paws out, both, their heels together. He activated Volt Claw. As he suspected, holding his paws out then casting cost magic, since he hadn't used it before holding out. The geas reappeared. He remembered his vision and rotated his paws like he saw before, making the circular cage. His right thumbclaw faced forwards and his left back while his claws curled above the opposite paws. They turned into a sort of spiral, and suddenly, the electricity became a bright, light blue whose hue could only be attributed to what it was coloring. It gathered into a small ball in his claws for a second before it stayed the same size, crackling electricity. Samba felt his electric power and magic power stop "moving", yet he could still hold it for as long as he liked. So, he aimed, and hoped that releasing his hold on the spell released the lightning in his paws.

KRRRRZZTT!! A bolt of electricity raced forth from his paws into the coil. It flew out for a short time before the stored electricity ran out. Samba felt his built-up electricity fade out with the shot. When it was done, he saw that a little bulb above the coil had lit up. As well, they heard a CLUNK downstairs. Link ran to look. "...That's the key! We opened the door!" he called back.

Samba grinned. "That's great!" he said when Link came over. "I think Boroy told me that that thing's called a 'coil circuit.' It's the only kind activated by pure electricty coming at it from the air, though I don't get exactly what he means by that...I get the electricity part, now, but...Alright, should we head down there, or..." His eyes rolled to the other door, the one that had been open the entire time.

Link considered the possibilities. '...We know what to do, and it's annoying, but we could get it done easily if we have to,' he asserted. "Let's go through there, first," he nodded at the door.

Link led them through. For once, it didn't shut tight behind them again despite there being enemies in the room and one HELL of a contraption inside. The whole thing was a little overwhelming, and something else attracted their immediate attention, so they decided not to look at the thing inside in detail. They DID note that the room was fairly noisy, thanks to a multitude of hums around them and the crackle of electricity everywhere. Looking at their map later, they confirmed themselves to be on the balcony of the room marked with a lightning bolt--Power. The compass gave its four-note melody.

Their balcony was a triangle in the southeastern corner with a square bit on the northern corner of it, this being room for the entrance. High chain link fences blocked them from falling down to the first floor from the other edges of this square. Glass appeared to prevent them from going over the large, amazingly intact control panels forming the hypotenuse of the balcony triangle. A sign was posted to the wall they came from. The map indicated a chest was in the far corner.

And two robots inhabited the relatively cramped space. They appeared to be Cirkitts, but they had nothing sticking out of them. They were smooth, unbroken mannequins of metal. And they saw and came over to Link and Samba. They noticed a big, circular disc of dark red glass in the part of their 'faces' where the mouth should be.

"Cirkitts?" Link asked, drawing the Master Sword warily.

"'Armos Cirkitts,' actually," corrected Samba. "They're newer models than the ones we've seen--XT23-6F. They're essentially Cirkitts in full function, Boroy says. They can take hits a lot more than Cirkitts, but they've also got a big weakness. It's GLARINGLY obvious." He emphasized the word with a short pause before and after, making eye contact with Link as he said it. Link got that this was a hint in the form of a bad joke. "And because they have no exposed wiring, sword attacks are alright...if you've got the strength of a goron behind your steel, that is."

They split up and took on one each. Like Samba suggested, sword attacks were safe, but useless. Spin attacks were still effective, as were Samba's kicks. They noticed that they attacked faster, without the glitchy pause in their punches that Cirkitts had. They also noticed their red "mouths" glowed bright red (proving the glass was originally dark from light, not color) right before attacking. They didn't have much time to react, however, and they had barely pulled out their ranged weapons to aim when they were punched. Link was cornered against the chain link fence, but he shield-shoved his way out. When he did a third time, the Armos Cirkitt had just started to punch. When it was repelled forcefully, Link saw that the light was still on. He took the chance and aimed with his bow, firing. He struck the easy target and made it stop still for a half second before going haywire, mouth glowing while it flailed about at double the speed, moving across the floor erratically. Its head rotated counter-clockwise sort of slowly as it went, and Link was able to nail it with another arrow, making it stop, spin its head quick clockwise once as it dropped its arms, and explode in defeat.

Samba found that his opportunity came when he ducked the fist and came back with a mule kick. He, consequently, had precious less time to fire, but he managed. Soon, he, too, had defeated the Armos Cirkitt. After it exploded into nothingness (leaving a few rupees), he felt something. "Ruh?" He stood looking forward, arms down, with a confused face on before he yelped and looked down in surprise. Link laughed as Samba went from standing on two footpaws to one, flailing about to balance as a small chest materialized below him, pushing him up. When it was done, Samba regained his balance enough on one footpaw to look down and raise his eyeridges. "I see what you were talking about," he said in wry humor.

Link chuckled and shook his head. "Okay, get off, you look silly," he told his companion, sheathing his sword and shield and making a shooing motion.

Samba shrugged and hopped forwards and off after digging his talons into the wood. As he had thought, the lid flipped open from his departure. He landed, turned, and retrieved the small key, smirking. He gave it to Link, chuckling, himself. "Hey, you said to get off," he told him.

Link gave a shrug and headshake. "Well, okay, but that's kinda scary that your talons are big enough to grip that well," he replied.

"Well, let's get down to the door we opened before so we can take in this room properly," Samba suggested, making for the door.

"Wait a second," Link held his shoulder, looking over his own at the sign on the wall. He made his way over. "...It's a note in both Goron and Hylian. Wonder why both?...Oh, well.

"'In case of emergency, remove conductor block from node in corner room. Please do not be a rockhead and hide the block behind a shutter door that needs electric power to open. (Though, figuring out how to get it there will be commended. But you will have to figure out how to get it out again.)'"

The two exchanged wide-eyed confused looks, blinking at each other. "Didn't get a word of that," Link shook his head helplessly.

"Me, neither," Samba shook his.

They made their way back out and found, thankfully, the puzzle had remained solved. They went downstairs and then into the previously-barred door to properly enter Power.

- - -

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS -- OPTIONAL READING

Ugh...I promise, SIMPLER dungeons next. At least, seeing as they've seen enough machinery that it's getting a little easier to describe, things might go a bit faster. At least we've now got the resurrection of my favorite item from Seasons! Ain't it cool? Heh...Let's see, any liberties this time? Oh...

- In reality, the Armos Cirkitts would've gotten there before Samba could finish his description. But, hey, Navi and Tatl stopped time to explain, so...Yeah, total liberty...

- The Pieces of Heart becoming a Heart Container. I promise, that's a single-time thing--I think it's kinda stupid, now.

And, yeah, PoP totally inspired that pole section. It'll inspire something else, sorta, too, that we'll hopefully see next or one after. God, this is getting worse than Hawaii...(hugs and kisses to any who get that)

Still to come: Something, something else, and, 'course, the boss.


	14. Clamor Plant: Energico a DC al Coda

They entered the largest square room they'd ever been in. The din took on a slightly subdued feel compared to Pouring, as did the color scheme. Instead of warm colors, cool steel and iron and bright electricity filled the busy room. Well, the room that could be pretty busy if it wanted to. To their right was a big, steel cylinder that reached up to the second floor, holding a platform, and past that was something odd they couldn't make out from there. To their left were six thick girders supporting the diamond sheet print metal-floored balcony they were just on. In front was the machine they saw earlier.

It was circular in shape and had a ramp going left partway up it after an elevated landing in a spiral--it appeared to be broken, with the other part (if any) not visible at their vantage. A console was on the landing. Only the landing had a railing. For the device itself, it was basically, they realized, a huge, fat cylinder. A close-knit version of the chain link fence covered it. Behind it, they could see a huge...THING behind a few very big girders that formed its outside. Light blue light glowed dimly from between the black shapes of the girders. On the floor around it on the right of the landing was what appeared to be a curved cut, with a hinge on a corner it made. 'A ramp?' Samba wondered. From around the left side of the central device came a red glow, like magma.

There were also some enemies in there, as they found when bokoblins, both armored and not, came at them in two swarms of at LEAST ten or fifteen. They didn't have much room between the door and the landing (which was actually balcony, but not THAT wide of one), so the two moved away to either side, handling each swarm of enemies on their own, happy to have targets their swords could strike effectively.

After an intense battle, during which Samba found he could add extra damage to his sword attacks by using Volt Claw, charging up some electricity, then drawing his sword (up which the bolts crawled), they looked at their new surroundings around the device. Samba, in the northern (right, before) half, saw a big wall. Behind him, the device too far to see before was a strange, decagonal floor switch that didn't move to his weight pressing on it.

Link saw a more interesting story. The ramp around the device wasn't completely broken; its middle was out, that's all. Samba could likely jump the gap, since it was a bit high and Link didn't fancy grabbing the sharp, jagged edge. Ahead, at the southwestern corner of the room, was a pit that was jaggedly-edged--broken, perhaps, by the monsters. Below was magma. Link went to the edge up against the machine and looked. The machine was built even down to there, to his amazement. 'How?? So dangerous...and wouldn't it all melt?' He noticed some sort of mechanism down there, as well. Dim lights went in lines around it. Going back to the corner of the room, he saw a big square that was still intact. It stood on a hunk of rock above the chasm, and from this rock came some cables. The cables must have been connected to a strange, huge block that quickly rotated counter-clockwise 90 degrees every few seconds. Link counted about seven and a half. Two sides were painted red and two blue, and the same color showed twice before switching. 'I wonder if...' He noticed no more enemies. He called Samba over.

"Look at that," Link pointed after giving the lizalfos a few seconds to take in the more-interesting half of the room. Samba looked at the rotating block and furrowed his brow.

"...Think it'll react to Volt Claw?" he asked. "It looks a bit heavy..."

"I think, this time, you might want to pull YOURSELF across," Link theorized. Samba looked down and gulped, and Link smiled and held a hand up. "Don't worry, I'll stick here to let you try your emergency trick."

Samba nodded, then studied the rotating block. Link let him figure it out himself. As the block rotated a third time for him, the lizalfos raised his right paw and gulped. Then, as soon as it stopped turning a fourth time, turning to a blue side, Samba cast Volt Claw, hoping he had enough magic.

As Link thought, Samba, lighter than the block, flew straight out, defying gravity. He let out a bit of a yell as he flew off. He had enough magic--just enough. It ran out short of the platform, making him let out a reptillian screech from the sight of hot magma coming to greet him, but his momentum carried him to the edge, which he grabbed in time with a definite yell, then a sigh of relief. He climbed up and onto the square. There, he found ONE pot with a small bottle of green potion. However, by then, he'd come up with a plan.

He saw that there was a western side of the room, which he could reach by repelling himself from the block...theoretically. Wasting no time in looking at details, he got back until his footpaws felt edge and looked at the block, paws slowly losing power. It turned and he, looking at it, jumped back and held out his left paw, this time. The south polarity of the block pushed against the south polarity of his paw, and he flew back. Thankfully, it was another straight line. Unfortunately, he ran out of electric power. However, his plan worked.

As soon as his electricty was used up, Samba recast the spell, dropping only an inch, and used his magic to push himself half the rest of the way before he stopped and started again, using the electricity he'd built up, noticing they depleted at equal speeds. He reached the floor with a half second's worth of electricity to spare. "YASSS!" he pumped his fist down in victory preceeding a punch upwards and a whoop.

"Sounds like that was thrilling," called Link from across the gap.

"You have no clue," Samba shouted back. He then looked around. Along a vertical stripe of metal were lines that, upon further inspection, were slots. These slots held what felt like round bars of metal when Samba stuck his claw in. Also, right near the edge in a corner with the machine and the pit, was a normal crystal switch. A crack ran from the edge and went all the way to the machine, with it on the other side. Samba wasted no time--he hit it with a pebble. Good thing, too, since the switch, as he had feared, soon joined the rock as it broke off and fell down to the abyss. Before it did, however, Link heard a chunk from the other side of the machine and ran over. He saw a curved ramp lift up from the floor up to the landing they had seen. "What happened?" came Samba's voice once the whirring stopped.

"It's a ramp! The switch made it go up!" Link called back after running around again. He noticed the switch was gone, raising his eyebrows.

"Just in time, too, as you can see," Samba laughed. They were both closer since the edges were sort of slanted (more like it had bits jutting out) in a way that the whole thing was another triangle (more like a wide, red "W" on the map). "Hang on, gonna check this out quick--then I'm coming back and we can go up the ramp."

Samba found that there was only another one of those things from the first goron-inhabited room they'd come across. After reporting what he had found to Link once he had hidden, he was asked about what they were. "Oh, it's an XT23-8X, commonly called a 'Pegbot'. It's a staitionary thingy that pops up in places where people have to come through, usually narrow ones, and spreads a flaming wall on two sides while rotating strips of spikes around its middle. It's indestructable. It's based on a security robot built by gorons that only they can handle--one good Goron Pound and it's out for a while."

After letting Samba out again, Link led them up the newly-risen ramp. He passed the sword to Samba at the split in the ramp. Samba cleared it and let Link lead again after the hylian was on the ramp with him. They continued up the ramp until they hit the landing, which was above the top of the machine.

Now on the second floor, they looked about before going further. The walkway went around a foot above the top of the machine, tracing its edge. In the center of the top was the tippity-top, a large (but smaller) cylinder about five feet above the top. It was surrounded by the main top of the machine, which was brimming with electricity, making it the only part that was safe to walk on apart from the walkway that went all the way around. Well, almost. A section right to their left when going onto the walkway from the landing that was about a sixth of the entire circle appeared to be lowered down, covered with the same electrified grating that covered the rest of the machine's top. (The metals were different; the grating was a fair bit darker than the walkway. They saw it fairly clearly.) There was nothing keeping them from falling onto the grating there, so they went on around the circle in the counter-clockwise direction they had to go. They also noted that it ended with either another drop onto the grating or with a ramp going up on their left once they got there. As they went on, they found that the elevated platform was the box-like kind they remembered from the inhabited conveyer room. It held a chest, and it didn't have a key, since the compass hadn't sounded. They couldn't reach it from there, so they went on.

They went up the ramp at the end onto the true top, going up and across five feet. Before they did, Link noticed that there were twin tracks in the walkway at the base of the ramp, and he wondered what that meant. He found out after both were on the highest point of the machine. As soon as they were there on the sheet metal-floored disc, a mechanical whir sounded as the top of the ramp lowered down behind them. They turned and saw that, as it lowered, it pushed out over the walkway until it was flat on it. It stuck out over the edge a bit.

Another mechanical sound alerted them back to the platform. Rising from a circular opening in the center was what appeared to be a suit of armor. When it stopped, they waited. Nothing. So, they crept over to investigate. It was an odd-looking full-plate suit. It had a sort of dress made of sliding plates of metal, bearing an etched symbol like the goron emblem, but slightly different. The base triangular shape was stretched, made wider and shorter, and two more smaller triangles were added, with one on the top and on on the left side. If the main triangle were upside-down, it would almost resemble a cat or dog pawprint. The middle was a simple sphere of metal, it appeared. The rest was very blocky-looking, basic-shaped chest armor and arm armor. The helmet had an oval faceplate with four rows of parallel slits. In its hands was a giant hammer.

They couldn't get a good look at this weapon, though, because when they got near, it almost got THEM. Luckily, Link noticed two red lights turn on within the helmet and was able to grab Samba back before they were crushed by a swing. Samba raised his eyeridges as the silvery grey metal being came to life, walking slowly towards them, each step of its full metal body clanking. Link drew the Master Sword, grimacing.

"Alright, Link, have you ever heard of Iron Knuckles?" Samba began.

"Not really, but I've heard of posessed suits," he replied, strafing around this thing.

"Well, they're what inspired this monstrosity you see before you," Samba nodded at the creature. "This is the XT23-7L, the 'Silicon Knuckle'. It acts like an Iron Knuckle, attacking with its big, heavy weapon in wide, quick swings. Unlike the Iron Knuckle, it both keeps all its armor on and is inpenetrable from all sides. Unlike the Iron Knuckle, it must bend its entire upper body with each overhead slam. That's GOTTA be our only chance! Stick with the Master Sword, it'll do the most damage!"

Link absorbed this information and nodded. He was running out of room, it appeared. "Alright, stay out of trouble--I'm hiding and switching if I get too hurt," he planned. Samba nodded. Then they had to run as the Silicon Knuckle came and tried a wide swing. "ROLL!" They dived away and around the sides of the ring, as it had become before they could get slammed.

Unfortunately, Samba went a bit too far. The unlucky lizard yelped as he rolled off the side. With a yowl of pain, he landed on the electrified flooring, jerking a few times before being blown back into the ring by a burst of electric power. He'd lost a full heart already, and they weren't hit by the Knuckle yet. "...Okay, I've got to practice rolling in a circle like Link can," he grumbled, standing up again. His scales were still smoking a little.

The Knuckle found Link (who had, indeed, rolled in a bit of a circle) its main prey. Smart young man, Link had stayed in a crouch when his roll finished in case he hadn't cleared the hammer, which whizzed over his head, blowing his cap around, when he stopped. He rolled again and stood, turning to the already-turned robotic creature. Then, it rapidly reeled back and slammed down with the hammer. Link jumped to the side away from it, but still got caught by the attack. After slamming to the floor, a short, literal shockwave eminated from the head of the hammer. The electricity reached Link's foot and shot along his body, paralyzing him for a moment--just long enough for the Knuckle to pull itself up again.

By then, though, the two organic fighters had figured out a plan. "Have someone stay behind it--" Link started to call.

"--and it'll use its overhead attack since there's only one target!" finished Samba. He yelped as Link barely avoided a sideways swing by rolling. "Well, probably more often," he added.

So, they worked it out like so: Samba would make sure he wasn't nearby the monster and Link kept in front. The Knuckle used its overhead only when there was a single being around it in range of the hammer, as they found out when it revealed itself able to move quicker, giving Samba a hard time of getting out of the way. When it DID use the overhead, Link side-hopped, then side-rolled around as soon as he landed from the hop, as if he were using his Back Slice attack that Betta had taught him. This got him out of the way of the lightning. He came up and saw a thick bundle of wires exposed on the bent back, behind what had looked like a sphere on front. He gave it two slashes with the Master Sword. When he was about to hit a third slash, the Silicon Knuckle came up and around, swinging horizontally. Link lost a heart and three-quarters from it, and he was also blown clear away. Thankfully, he was facing the inside of the ring when it happened. The next times he did this, though, he was able to remember that two hits was it before he had to avoid the swings.

It took about five rounds of running around, avoiding falling off and falling victim to the heavy hammer blows, and two slashes before, finally, the Knuckle screeched as metal ground on metal. A blast came from its back, making it stand upright. It dropped the hammer (literally) and stumbled back jerkilly, starting to go haywire from how much damage had been done to its workings.

Link looked at the hammer and suddenly had an idea. He narrowed his eyes, put his sword and shield away, and grabbed it. He hefted it in the reverse way the (right-handed) machine did. Then, with a warcry, he jumped and gave a literally thunderous finishing slam on the machine. A delightful crunch of metal sounded as the heavy, blunt head came down, and a crackle of electricity as it emitted bolts from the sides of the head. Link swung with such force, he had pushed the robotic thing to the floor in one go. He stood up and stepped back, looking at it. Thankfully, it soon exploded.

The ramp came up again, as well as the portion of ringing walkway that had been hidden. Out of the slots Samba had found before came rungs, forming a ladder from the first floor to the second floor's walkway (which had a bit of ladder on its side). And, strangely, a ring of light appeared in the center of the fighting ring, rotating counter-clockwise a wave-like fan of gentle pink. A wavy circle of the same color rotated opposite in the center of it.

(Also, six hearts sprang out from it. These were greedly grabbed up by the two.)

Link then looked at the hammer, which had remained in existance after its owner had been defeated. It was long, being a warhammer. However, its sturdy iron handle was rather thin, about as thick as a normal lead pipe, and Link could easily grip it. It was colored mostly black. Around its rounded butt was a band of metal with four round studs of what appeared to be steel or some grey metal. The other end of the handle stuck out of the head like many hammers in that time, and a steel rod kept it from coming out. The head itself was the most interesting.

The part of the head through which the long metal stick went was circular when looking at it from the back, which was good, since it let the two ends attatch well. On each side was an etching of the goron emblem, black filling in the lines. The back end was a thick hook with two notches taken out, each in the shape of a wave. When looking at it from the side, it resembled a lightning bolt. The flaring head itself was the strangest and most decorated. Instead of the flaring part coming smoothly out from the middle of the hammer, rounded, it came out as if hewn, with ten equal sides apparant, though curving inwards shallowly on each face. The faces of the flare's sides matched up with each side of the decagon-shaped, two-inch-thick flat part of the head. On the sides of this part was an alternating pattern of a central, carved diamond surrounded by two lightning bolts going to each corner, with one set being carved out, as well, and the other being etched and tipped flatly before reaching the diamond. On the broad, flat part itself was an odd way to design a hammer. A circular hole sat in the center, wide enough for an index finger to stick down and find it's actually half a finger deep before a button was pressed to no apparant result. Radiating out from the hole were ten straight, etched lines that each met another, larger diamond carved from the metal. Each was parallel (lengthwise) with the side it was near, and perpendicular (widthwise) to the center of it. Coming from the sides of each diamond was a stright line etched into the grey, not black, metal of the flat end of the head to meet the end of another, forming an interesting, angled wheel on the head.

Link looked at it in wonder, feeling its weight in his hands. "Interesting..." he muttered. He looked at the spot the Knuckle had been before remembering what happened when it slammed the hammer down. With a bit of an effort, he raised the hammer above his head and, shouting, brought it crashing down onto the floor in front of him. With a very satisfying WHAM!!, it met the surface, shaking the world around a bit, and, as it hit, a ring of yellow electricity burst out around the sides of the head. Link gasped in a smile, holding up the weapon. "Now that's one HELL of a hammer!" he crowed.

Samba raised his eyeridges, impressed, before smirking and scoffing. "Well, now, jealous of Volt Claw, anymore?" he asked.

Link, putting the hammer away, chuckled and turned to his companion, hand on his hip. "If I was, I certainly aren't, now," he replied. He looked thoughtful. "I bet, with that thing, we can take care of those Pegbots, now..." he muttered.

Samba thought back to the floor switch he'd seen before. "And I bet that'll give you enough force to activate that weird, ten-sided floor switch I saw over there," he added, pointing in its direction.

Link nodded, smiling. "Right. Looks like we've each gotten ourselves a new tool to assist us in this whole ordeal," he stated. He looked at the ladder that had come up. "Hmmm..."

They went down the ladder. Link let Samba out (he had hid as they both decided to do when one was climbing a ladder) as soon as he got down and proceeded to the Pegbot. On either side of it was a tall, full-floor-high wall of consoles, and a roof of that same kind of electrified grating spanned above it. He walked up to it and stopped when it came up, whirring its spikes and FWOOM!ing its fire walls. Then, producing the hammer, he gauged the distance, both horizontal and vertical, between his swing and the top. He determined a jump attack was in order, so he backed up and jumped, giving a mighty cry as he brought the hammer down as he did before--sliding both hands to the end to give maximum force from the head after he pushed with his top hand (which I think would be the left--I'm not quite sure for two-handed, single-attack-point weapons like axes and hammers). CLAHNG!! The Pegbot went down into the floor with a quickly slowing grind sound, and as it did, the flames went out. "C'mon, let's go," Link beckoned over his shoulder, and they went off.

This new corner of the room was like an entirely new room, if moderately cramped. Beautiful lines of dull blue light covered the floor, slow yellow pulses traveling along it. The consoles looked very complicated to them, despite them having separate lights in place of a screen to warn of specific things. Many words in goron script were written below buttons and lights at adult goron eye level. The floor was tiled, like the tiled-floor puzzle in Pouring they had yet to investigate. Directly across from them was a button in the floor that took up a tile. Like the mechanism Samba had seen, it was ten-sided, but this one had eight lines coming from it on the floor, one from each side and one from each corner of the tile. There appeared to be lines of light on it, as well, but they were out. A thin, short rod was in the center, but wasn't attatched to the rest of the button--it was in a hole in the center. Link looked at the hammer in his hand and then at the rod.

Samba looked at what he recognized to be a shutter in the corner, in a gap in the northern console wall and against the eastern wall he'd seen before. He knew it was a shutter because it disappeared into the floor AND wasn't covered with more lights than the night sky. He also noticed a note sticking to it by something--a hunk of metal that gave resistance when he pulled it off. "A magnet?" he muttered. He then looked at the parchment written in Goron and Hylian again. "Again with the two languages...must be for learning."

Before he could read it aloud, Link slammed his hammer down onto the switch. Samba turned and looked at this. He noticed electricity fizzling out of the sides of the head that fit like a glove in the center of the impression, but it was going INTO it instead of out. Around them, things began to hum more. The pulses of light beneath their feet moved in the opposite direction and much quicker, and the lines brightened. In fact, EVERYTHING brightened.

Also, something metal slid, and they turned to look at the shutter dropping. A big block as high as them and about the size of a tile was revealed. Next to it was some strange, flared-ended pipe of brass that pointed out. Samba looked at it in interest and walked over to it. Link squinted to see, hands still on the hammer.

Samba got close and examined it.

Link, who couldn't see from there, removed his hammer and trotted over.

As soon as he had, everything shut down again. Samba squeaked and jumped back before the shutter had flattened him against the ceiling. He looked at Link, who was surprised at this all. "I have to keep that hammer there?" he asked.

Samba shrugged. He then remembered the note he'd picked up--which, he determined, had fallen to the other side of the shutter. He sighed aggrivatedly. "I think we'd reached our goal when you activated that thing there, which I think might be what Boroy calls a contact circuit. I think you need to keep it there..."

Link humphed and crossed his arms, holding the hammer in them, before leaning forwards and gesticulating with his right hand. "But how will we go on together if I'm stuck here making sure my hammer's not going to fall back into the XT23s' hands? ...Claws? Metal digits? Whatever??"

Samba looked at the shutter. Link did, too, before both raised the muscles above their eyes. "The note from before, up there..." Samba muttered.

"That must be the conductor block!" Link realized, nodding. He looked at his hammer. "I think my hammer here spreads electricity when it contacts a surface, and I think it might continue to eminate it if it's stuck in a pit like that when it doesn't have a rod. The rod must turn the electricity off and let it conduct electricity. I mean, look," he pointed. "The pulses of light are going INTO that contact circuit."

"I get it," Samba nodded. "So, how's about we do this, then?"

They set to work. Link slammed the contact circuit and reactivated the world around them, lowering the shutter. Samba grabbed the block (which was thankfully not too wide for him to grapple without handles) and pulled it out. He noticed the bottom was shaped the exact same way as Link's hammerhead. He barely had two tiles outside of the shutter that he could move around on. He then pulled it from the left side towards Link, moving a tile at a time, for a couple seconds before he moved to the other side and pushed. He stopped when he reached Link's hammerhead. Link pulled it out, and everything started to dim again. Samba pushed once more and the block dropped onto the switch. When it did, lines of light illuminated it, going up in a pulse before glowing entirely. Everything started up again, but even better. Outside the miniroom, they heard a dull hum begin. It became a dull roar, then a real roar as something sounded like it was spinning. Around them, what originally were red lights everywhere, which had become yellow when Link had used his hammer, green lights now shone peacefully. The room, then, felt much less trecherous, and the "instrumentation" of the song they heard only when they focused on it became subtler, now full of happy bleeps. To their untrained ears, it appeared to have modulated into the Major version of the old minor key.

"There!" Link said, smiling and putting his hands on his hips once his hammer was put away. He looked around. "I don't understand much of this, but I feel a lot better."

Samba stood and smiled around him, too, standing by the shutter. After a second, he suddenly jumped back with a surprised exclaimation when a voice came from behind. "Can you hear me?? Hello??"

Samba turned and blinked at that pipe that was there in wonder, then, uncertain, said, "Yas, I can."

"I didn't catch that! Speak into the bell of the pipe!" instructed the voice.

Samba got up close and spoke loudly back, "We can hear you, yas."

"Samba! Good! This means that you've reactivated the machinery in the Power room!!" sang the voice. "Good job, brothers!"

Link looked at it, raising his eyebrows. "What is this?" he asked through it. "A way to speak?"

"Yes!" the speaker replied. "It's an old system we discovered that works pretty well. It doesn't need power, only lots and lots of pipes. The sound travels through them across long distances. Oh, yeah, this is Boroy, by the way. I'm in the balcony floor of the conveyer room the other gorons are in." He paused. "How'd you do it, brothers? What happened?"

Samba looked at his feet and saw the note. "Oh!" He picked it up. "Almost forgot about this...Boroy, this note was on a shutter blocking us from a block that let us activate the switch we needed," he explained. "It reads,

"'Because of the monster raid, me and my friend have decided it might be best if we disconnect the main conductor block and put it away out of reach of the monsters. Forgive us, especially if it does more harm than good. To retrieve the block, you will have to borrow the Thunderforge, the foundry's crowning achievement in invention, and use it to temporarily conduct electricity. It can't handle as much as the block, though, but it will open this shutter and let someone get the block. You know what to do from there.'"

"Thunderforge?" Link repeated, raising his eyebrows.

"The Thunderforge! That's the warhammer that we created that can be used in a variety of ways!" Boroy said excitedly. "Does this mean you have it? It's a big, black hammer."

"Yeah, a Silicon Knuckle tried to turn us into pancakes with it," Samba grumbled. "Link has it. I already got a spell called Volt Claw, so it's only fair."

"Volt Claw? Spell? Never heard of those being here in the foundry," Boroy said. "Anyway, Link, Samba, you've got to get back to the foreman! He'll tell you what to do next, brothers."

"What exactly does reactivating the power mean?" Link asked.

"Well, it means elevators are functional again--there should be one in there--the controls in this room are working again, we're able to use the machines that make molds using normal means, and, most importantly, the beamos statues are essentially off!" explained the goron happily. Link and Samba gasped and grinned at each other at this last part. "Wait, hang on...There. Now they won't attack EITHER of you. They only attack monsters, so I had to quick command them to ignore lizalfos so you'd be fine, Samba. Anyway, get back to Foreman Sarbog right away, brothers! And thank you, good job!"

"We're on our way, Boroy!" Link assured him, and they departed from the pipe.

Link wondered what that ring of energy was when they came out of the mini-room. They saw that the giant machine was a dynamo of sorts, and it was turning and turning, making a roar as it created electricity within its depths. Link said he wanted to check out that weird pink thing as he climbed up the ladder.

"And what about that other contact circuit?" asked Samba when they were atop the generator.

"Oh!" Link nodded and went down the curving ramp. He went to the other switch, which was like the first one he used but without a rod in the middle and lines coming out of it and on top of it...from what they could tell. There were ten dots around the sides on top, though. Link slammed the Thunderforge down onto it. It gave a sharp burst of yellow electricity as it contacted it.

When it did, the elevator by them came to life, lowering down. Link removed the Thunderforge after it reached the ground and went to open it. "Well, about time!" he said, smiling satisfiedly as he turned, holding a purple rupee.

Samba chuckled.

Then, they went back up the ramp and to the tip-top of the generator again. The light ring was still there. Link gulped and stepped into it. Samba gasped as he was suddenly sent into his ring and Link gasped as he began spinning around, floating up. A white flash covered their vision.

When they could see again, Link was coming to a spinning stop--but he didn't feel dizzy at all. He set down on the ground on top of another ring of light, and Samba appeared beside him. They looked around.

They were in the foyer again.

"Must be some sort of teleportation thing," Samba guessed, shrugging as Link stepped off of it and bent to examine.

"Let's got going, then," Link nodded after a moment, and he turned. Samba followed--footpaw accidentially stepping inside the ring. He stopped, squeaking, and looked. Link stopped to look, and both waited a moment. After a big load of nothing, Samba shrugged again. "Maybe it only reacts to the weilder of the Master Sword," Link guessed this time.

They both made their way out and into Pouring again. The monsters were back again, of course. As they went on, they noticed some of the Cirkitts had been replaced by Armos Cirkitts. These were EASILLY dispatched by the Thunderforge, eliminating them in a three-swing combo Link developed. The regular Cirkitts went down in one hit.

"Oh, I think I love this thing," Link laughed after crushing another robot.

Samba chuckled, crossing his arms. He then noticed he was standing by a beamos, eye now deep violet and clearer-looking, and began backpedaling from it before he realized it would have hit him already. "Oh, yeah," he muttered. He grinned sharply. "I'm not considered an enemy to it anymore!!" He jumped for joy.

"Uh, Fire Keese, Samba..." Link warned, standing and pointing behind him.

"Huh?" Samba stopped and turned--just in time to see it shot through with a laser hotter than itself. It was defeated instantly, and both of them laughed. "AND IT'S ON OUR SIDE, NOW, TOO!!" the lizalfos added, jumping for joy again.

They made their way to the door by it, rolling past the Spike Trap and returning to the smithing room. Once in there, they were greeted warmly by Sarbog. "Well-done, brothers!" he laughed happily, turning to them with a smile. "Boroy tells me that the power is back on. That is amazing! I cannot believe it! Was it difficult?"

Link and Samba thought for a second before planing their hand/paw. "Once we figured it out, not really," Link replied.

Sarbog nodded, then dropped the smile, looking serious once more. "Alright, then, the most tedious and difficult task awaits," he said. "What you two must now help us do is assemble the key to the beast's lair. This will require teamwork. If you could reach the switch to reactivate the power--thus putting it back in our favor--you are able to do this. Tell me, have you found any burlap sacks with a stripe or stripes on it?" He raised an eyebrow.

Samba brought out the sack with the III on it. "We found this in the furnace room," he said, offering it up.

Sarbog nodded, taking it. "Good. You must first collect the other two sacks, one with one line and the other with two," he instructed. "They are somewhere in this foundry still, I am sure of it. Any questions?"

"What are they for, exactly?" Link asked.

"They are for creating the key," he answered, nodding. "Each bag contains the parts needed for a key--Bag I has the parts for the handle, bag II has barrel parts, and the parts in bag III are teeth and bits.

"Thank you for not throwing out the parts III bag, what must have seemed to be junk at the time," he nodded. "I shall keep it. It contains a number of copies of the teeth and bit sets used on the key we need. What you need to do is get the other ones, bring them to me, and I shall ready a few keys for you."

"KeyS?" Samba asked, eyeridge raising in confusion. "Don't we need one, sir?"

"True, but you will need a few back-up keys to start over with if you fail," answered Sarbog. "Just bring me the other parts, I will explain later. It will only bog you down if you hear the rest now."

Link nodded. "Yessir, we'll be leaving," he said.

"Happy hunting."

They left the room and made their way back into Pouring, where two chests were left. Link looked at his minimap and raised an eyebrow. "You know, I've been wondering about that moving chest," he commented to Samba.

"Me, too," agreed the blue-scaled one, sharing the look.

Indeed, a chest moved about on the map...well, the second floor. Samba thought for a moment. "I wonder if it's inside one of those buckets," he mumbled, paw to chin. "It goes along the tracks like one."

"Then let's see," Link said, nodding.

"Wait, let's get that other one, first," Samba suggested. "It's easier, it's only on a catwalk."

"How do we GET there, though?" Link asked, looking up and at the catwalk discussed. It was broken off and inaccessable from basically all ways from the break in the catwalks and the broken ladder.

"Let me be leader again for a bit, and I'll show you," Samba answered.

Link trusted Samba and sent the Master Sword over. Samba nodded and turned, trotting south along the east wall, Link following. 'Let's hope my theory works...' he thought as he went. He stopped in front of a ladder made of rungs sticking in the wall that swam with electricity. No catwalk was around it. Nearby it at the top, however, was a sideways ladder of wall-mounted, electrified rungs along the wall (another of which was on the opposite wall but were useless). He could hoist himself up over to it from the ladder and go across it. "How would you climb the ladder, though?" Link wondered.

"You'll see," Samba answered. He looked at the beamos as it fried a Cirkitt. "Glad that thing isn't aiming at us, anymore, or I couldn't be able to use it." He had Link hide before he clapped and rubbed his paws. "Allllrighty, then...Let's hope this works." He cast Volt Claw again breifly before grabbing the rungs. As he did, he built up more electricity. And, since he was climbing a dangerous ladder and he was able to because of the kind it was, he put his footpaws on the wall, straddling the ladder, and climbed his way up.

Link came out of the ring in his ball of light form and looked at Samba. "Cleeveerrrrrr."

"Hope I'm more clever than that," Samba grunted. His electric power had reached half. "Now!" He recast it and grinned. "YAS!!" He had willed his power to come OUT instead of build up as usual when not pulling things. Since he had electric power, no magic was used. His holding electrified surfaces fed him power. In short, he canceled out the forces and froze the level of electric power in him. He could hold onto an electrified object all day if he wanted--as long as he kept casting, he wouldn't overload. He was also able to cast the spell and climb at the same time, so he decided to do this whenever he was climbing ladders (since it was too akward to use it just to build up electricity; he would just use an easy-to-access bar or something).

He got to the top and found himself on the second floor. To his left was the little ladder thing. It ran underneath two electrified support bars for the hanging track that were usable as means of flipping across gaps. The far catwalk was too far to get to, though, for the bar. So, he did what he planned to do. He locked his eyes onto the end of the horizontal ladder and hoised himself up in a jump, hoping he'd make it because it'd be a hard landing below (he had enough hearts to make it, but he'd rather he didn't fall that far). He snagged them and breathed a sigh of relief as he hung from the vertical bars.

Grunting and getting himself up, he set his footpaws against the wall and started hobbling along. Link looked behind him at the machine on the ceiling. There were crystal switches ALL OVER it! Some had colored bases. He noticed colored stripes on the differently-sized buckets that moved about. One bucket was actually full of metal that had cooled and hardened, rendering it useless...except as a platform. He could barely see it from the start of the horizontal ladder, as it went around the west side of the room only (they were on the east side).

Samba made his way across and found the ladder ended a bit before the catwalk. As it did, some rungs were actually pulled out a bit and were more like monkey bars, now. So, he swung off the end on to the catwalk, shutting off his electricity. He spread his arms and sang, "Ta-daaaah!" before chuckling and moving to the chest. He opened it and pulled out..."Parts II (the barrels, I think)!" he announced before putting the "II"-marked bag away. He then noticed that his own electricity didn't affect him, since he forgot to wait for his power to run out before touching his body. He touched his arm with a live paw. He felt the power wash through it and a few inches from his paw. "Wow..."

It's then that he realized he felt something else when electrified with Volt Claw. He felt comfortable with it...as if it were natural. He blinked a moment as this occured to him. '...I...guess I must have a knack for it,' he guessed, looking at his paws.

"Let's get across again so we can find a way onto those tracks since there's a chest in a bucket." Link's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and Samba nodded.

After going halfway, Samba shifted up to a pole and swung to the other one, which he flipped off of since he was lined up with the catwalk enough. He let Link out afterwards. "Sorry, that's a lot of fun," he said, grinning sheepishly at Link's playful look of scolding at his antics.

They then went to the other side of the room, defeating any in their way. Link decided to use his sword for a bit because his arms did get a bit tired from swinging that hammer around so much. Once that was done, they got back to the door to what they had decided to term the western stairwell. Samba landed on the catwalk and let Link out again, then both looked at the crystal switch. Samba looked at Link. "What should we do?" he asked.

"I don't know, but I think I can actually jump that gap by the eastern stairwell you go across when you go to the north part of this room, grabbing the edge since my goron tunic lets me resist heat pretty well," Link suggested. "I mean, I've been grabbing onto metal ladders right next to the pit, so..." He leaned around the pulled-out machine. "Right. Get me to the other side again and start Sync Mode, then come back while I go down and to the gap."

"Yas." Samba got him hid, then jumped back across the poles. He let Link out and they initiated Sync Mode. Link stayed while Samba went across again and stood by the switch, facing it. Then Link got the Sword and he went down the ladder there. He trotted across the room (waving at the beamos cheerfully while it eliminated the helmasaur chasing him, making Samba laugh) and bravely jumped off of the little part sticking out into the pit. As he suspected, he could catch the ledge with his hands...well, his chest, really. After getting the wind knocked out of him and barely clutching the edge before falling to his doom, he hoisted himself up and over. He then faced a new challenge: Getting across the rivers too wide for him.

He found a solution he could do. The sand molds coming had some parts on it he could grip if he jumped on. He waited until he was sure one was coming that would get him across and not stop over a river and hopped on. "Cleeverrrrrr," Samba complimented this time, smirking. It carried him to the farthest one, where he got off and hopped over the river that was BARELY narrow enough for him. Getting a rolling start helped a lot. From there, he made it to the ladder and climbed up.

"Alright," he panted before taking a breath, catching it. He faced the switch. "Ready?"

"Ready."

They Synchronized, joining minds, and as one, the drew and attacked with their swords. The switches pinged in a nice chord. This chord was drowned out by a siren sounding. They turned off Synchronization and looked at the central machine on the ceiling. Red lights appeared around it and spun while the whole thing slowly came to a halt, except for the biggest, green-rimmed bucket that kept going around the main track. The noise died down considerably. (The siren didn't last forever.) As well, they heard the sound of a chest materializing, and saw a chest appear on top of the smallest bucket.

Ah...NOW would be the time to describe this tricky hanging track system. Though not moving at the moment, the two swordsman had seen it enough and saw it on their maps so that they knew the basics. Taking up the majority of the space on the second floor, the central machine and the attatched tracks sent the five buckets along. The tracks weren't directly attatched to the central mechanism, but were attatched by corner-mounted poles that stretched to the track's corners on the main, first level, making a shape that some readers may attribute to old floor switches when looked at from above, except rectangular. There were two levels--the main, first level and the secondary level. The main one circled around the mechanism in a rounded rectangle, stopping at one of eight points...the four corners and the middle of each long part. It matched with the hanging tracks for the buckets below, ofset to allow the metal to pour without harming the tracks. All of the buckets went clockwise around it.

Each bucket had its own route. Sometimes, a bucket only went around the northern half of the main track before going back to the secondary. The secondary track...THIS was the complicated one. Different buckets moved along it in different directions at different times, sharing the same track and not moving aside for other ones, it seemed. The track itself was attached to the main one at two points, each one between the middle of the long part (the rectangle was longest north to south) and the northern corner. Poles from straight above supported it at the southern part. It went out from the main track into a sort of square, down south, then back to the center, the eastern turning before the western. Each then did a sort of loop that intersected each other. It went straight, then turned a tight, curving turn that met the same track it had been smoothly, with the western track turning north and the eastern south. This let the buckets either return to the same side they were on, like the solidly-filled bucket Link remembered seeing stayed on the left, and others to switch tracks.

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: I promise, people, I'll be putting up diagrams of some of the messier parts of this dungeon when I post this. I'll tell you where to go at the end. It's simpler than you'd think, really.)

At current, the other four buckets were in different parts of the track, still save for swinging slightly: The solid-filled bucket, of medium size and wrapped with a bright red band of paint, was heading for the loop from the main track; the smallest bucket, decorated with a band of purple and holding the chest, had just exited the main loop, hanging on the western half; the bucket sized between those two, with a vibrant, but deep, azure band set around it, currently hung at the southeastern corner of the secondary track, coming around and north; and the second-biggest bucket, bearing a loudly yellow band, was almost midway down the same side, coming at the blue one. To help tell where each was heading, the spout to pour the metal out of pointed to the right of their direction of travel--facing out meant they were going away from the machine, in other words. They didn't know their exact routes except for the red one.

Link, after giving Samba the sword, hiding, and reappearing again, looked at the colored crystal switches around the sides of the ceiling machine again. "Hey, that's the same formation of switches as last time, on the other side, when I faced it," he noted, pointing at them. "A normal one on the left corner, then the one with the yellow base, the one with the purple...wait, the middle normal one is missing...but there's still the red, then the blue, then the other corner again." He raised an eyebrow. "They're all red inside, now."

"Must be for ease in this situation, when these things don't work," Samba theorized, pointing at the console. A few buttons were visible. "There's no green switch--assuming those switches DO match with the buckets."

"But do we need to power them again?" wondered Link.

"We'll see," Samba muttered, readying a pebble. He aimed at the red switch and fired. CLANG! It turned to green inside and the bucket moved, going forwards relatively slowly. Samba smiled and ran to jump on. He got on with not much space to spare behind, going early as possible, so Link was able to catch it and glare annoyedly at his partner. "Sorry," Samba blushed. "Forgot."

"We're gonna crash if you don't stop this," Link warned, pointing at the bucket coming at them.

"Right," Samba nodded, aiming again. He threw and hit the red switch again. It turned red again and the bucket stopped, swinging a little bit. They weren't close enough to the other bucket to reach over and grab the chest, so Samba hit the purple one. It came a fair bit faster, being smaller, probably, which was unexpected. "Quick, quick...!" Samba squeaked, trying to throw another pebble, aiming.

Suddenly, they heard a clicking sound and both their bucket and the other one moved up a bit. The buckets themselves had mechanisms inside the points the handles went inside and were lifting up and away from each other! They went just far enough that they barely passed. Link looked up and noticed, a bit ahead of the buckets, a rod traveling with them on the track that held a flat rod of sheet metal. They must have clicked together, tripping a switch to alert the mechanisms to start. Another was trailing behind, probably to tell them to stop. He realized this hanging track was one-but-two-sided with a bottom central track that they must drop to for the loop parts, allowing two buckets to pass. "That's amazing," he marveled softly. Samba stopped the purple one just as they were close together, so they were able to lean over and open it.

"Got 'em all!" Samba crowed as he beheld the parts I (handles) bag. "Now let's get to Sarbog, after we get down from here."

They were right by the catwalk, so they jumped over to it. They noticed, then, that the molten metal troughs were pouring out their loads now, being too full otherwise. They poured safely down to the rivers of lava, though, so it didn't affect anything. They only offloaded enough to let them drain their excess, though, before stopping up again, giving a good half minute between unloads.

Within a few more minutes, they were back down in the smithy. Sarbog smiled and accepted the parts. "Thank you very much, brothers!" he said. "Now..." He bowed his head, closing his eyes, before looking up again. "...the hard part begins. Now that we have these parts, we must construct the key. To do so, we need to get them to the goron in the elevator down in Goron-Assisted Refining, the room Boroy's in right now. We cannot just take it to him directly, however, since the key must be put through a special process to be accepted...in my opinion."

"What do you mean?" asked Link. He didn't like the sounds of this.

Sarbog smirked. "You honestly thought we would use our talents and cut corners, ever?" he asked slightly incredulously. "Hm, well, you DO realize that smiths are as much artists as painters, correct?" Link and Samba raised their eyebrows/-ridges. Sarbog pounded his broad chest before crossing his arms again. "We gorons take pride in our work, and we would feel cheapened if we simply gave you a plain key to the door. Desperate the situation may be, we all feel the need to do our best and nothing but our best. Also, we feel the need to create something in its entirety if possible, even if it is in multiple parts. Thus, bear with me, please..." He looked serious again. "...Help us create the chest this key is made to come in!"

Link and Samba fought back a groan. They understood why they wanted to do this, but they both wanted to just get to the boss chamber, already. They were tiring of this foundry...but when they considered it, there were still many puzzles to solve. This perked them up again, thanks to a trait they shared that was both dangerous and advantagous, a trait that assisted their courage: Curiosity. They nodded.

"Thank you," Sarbog smiled. It faded soon after. "We must construct it, regardless, because its unique inner mechanisms, which must be built through the efforts of machine, goron, and both, will respond to the lock and open it. See, the creature behind that door is nothing short of a behemoth. Five gorons can ride its back. And, by now, it must have grown even larger than that." He narrowed his eyes as he spoke of it. He nodded at them. "Because of that, the door had to be reinforced with magic power. That's why we used a one-of-a-kind super lock that ensures NOTHING may escape from the prison it creates. It also makes sure that, unless the proper spell is used on it, no key can properly open it. You can even pick the thing, if you want, brothers, but the door shall neither budge nor give. The spell needs the help of focusing mechanisms placed by heavy machine, which are affixed by the help of a goron-guided machine. It is then cast with the help of the spirit of a skilled craftsman's heart.

"In other words, you need to construct the frame, put it through the correct machines, then place the key inside the box at some point after that and before it returns here, preferably immediately. In the meantime, it must be safely taken to the goron on the elevator, the only one with a blowtorch--the tool we need, mind not--and the skill to use it minutely and quickly as it passes him on the belt. Then it has to come back down and placed on the mine tracks in the room south of here, where it SHOULD be a simple matter that ought to take but a minute before you bring it back here for me."

They absorbed all of this information, then Link nodded. "Alright, I assume that means we follow the way the machines link together?" he checked.

Sarbog smiled. "Smart."

"Anything we need to do to prepare?" inquired Samba. "After all, a pot cannot boil if no fire is set down."

"True. I suspect that we must prepare a few things, but the only ones I can think of are the parts of the chest in Molds, the correct-sized bucket that must pour metal into the mold in Pouring, and the proper machines to be used in Mechanical Refining, which we have to play by ear. That, and which mold machine to use if some are broken," Sarbog listed. "I trust you can figure it out on your own. If need be, Boroy knows exactly what I have planned, and can help you. There are a number of speaking pipes around that you can use to communicate, hidden behind panels in the wall that Boroy will open if you speak with him. Tell him where you are, and he should be able to help." He nodded to the door to Molds. "Begin now, going to Molds to make sure the machines are accessable to you--manually compressing the sand is needed for this spell to work, strangely, but at least one must be left intact--and then direct the carts of sand to it. Good luck."

With that, he fell silent.

Link and Samba looked at each other and nodded, then said they'll do their best.

"I feel like we're only halfway done with this place," Link grumbled as they walked out into the hallway, turning to the other door.

"I hear ya," Samba grumbled, pressing the button. They came in and looked around. "Boroy?"

"Up here! Above you!"

They trotted around to the beginning the ramp up. Another Pegbot popped up. Samba stepped aside, making the "after you" gesture, and Link slammed it into the floor. They trotted up and saw Boroy at the top. Around him were four--FOUR!--contact circuits. One was on the wall by the door (not the wall the door was on, but the eastern one), for some reason. The others were on the floor, and each one was surrounded by a circle, a notch on the side the switch was on and two on the outside. There were also the consoles from before, including one with a red button. "Hey, wasn't that broken before?" asked Link, pointing at it.

"Yeah, but I fixed it up," Boroy said, smiling proudly. "You're doing great, brothers! At this rate, we'll be able to get to that monster in no time!"

Samba nodded. "Thanks. Say, you activated those pipes from before?" he asked. "I mean...well, he said that you could open shutters or something..."

"Oh, I see," Boroy nodded. He walked over to a place in the wall that held a patch of sheet metal. A goron emblem was on it. They had dismissed it as nothing before, just decoration. He banged on the wall by it and it sprang open. "These things need handles," he muttered as he opened it the rest of the way. Inside were a number of bell-ended pipes like before. Each had a red button and a green button on a little shelf in front of it. Boroy had one green pressed, but the others were red. Below each was a Goron word. He pressed the rest of the green ones. "We usually turn them off if no-one's in the room to save power, but we need them now." He turned and smiled at them, gesticulating. "Now you can see panels in the wall with a pipe behind it, brothers!" he announced happily. "There will be an emblem on the lid. Just hit the wall around it with some blunt force--like with a kick or a hammer, or a roll if you're feeling adventurous--since a sword's too precise. You'd have to be REALLY close to it. It'll spring open, and you can open it the rest of the way. Just be sure to close it when you're done, or it'll get hurt by monsters, for sure."

They nodded. "Right," Link understood. "So, we need to get to Molds, first?"

"Correct, brother," Boroy nodded. "Get there and then talk to me--I'll tell you what to do."

So, they went out the door nearby and made their way to Molds, truly starting the final leg of their journey in Clamor Plant.

- - -

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS -- OPTIONAL READING

TWO MORE, GUYS! One for this huge ordeal, and finally one more for the boss fight and what happens afterwards. I'm REALLY sorry this is taking so long and it's so confusing! As I said, I'll be posting up the stuff that's most confusing online when I post this up. You should be able to find it on my deviantART account, FerreTrip. Just go to ferretrip(dot)deviantart(dot)com and look in my gallery. No, I'm not posting entire maps, yet, because I both want to try and use flash to make it layered like in Zelda and I want to remake the map for this place, at the very least, because it's really smudgy and I can barely read parts of it. And it's cramped. Yeah. Let's see...

Liberties taken:

- I'm having it so that when Samba has his paws up with Volt Claw, he doesn't backflip when you jump back.

- The game's AI, unless the programmers are GENIUSES, won't be able to stay away from the Silicon Knuckle, so you'd have to have him hide so he doesn't interfere.

- The moving chest. Yeah, I'm trying to be creative, here, so sue me.

- I shouldn't even put this here, because it's Zelda and you should know better, but putting away the Thunderforge is technically impossible. But, again, THIS IS ZELDA and you should know better.

I PROMISE THAT NO DUNGEON WILL BE THIS DETAILED AT LEAST FOR A LOOOOOONG TIME. Hell, I don't even know what to do for the rest. With college coming up soon, I may not for a while. But you're used to whiles with me, right? n_n;;


	15. Clamor Plant: Allegretto

'The last mission in the foundry: Using it as intended. How fitting.' Link mused this while he followed Samba into Molds. 'But, then, I guess I'd be a little disappointed if we weren't able to see how this all works, since it looks like it could act like a real foundry. Albiet, a very complex one, in my opinion, but this is the first foundry I've ever been in, so...'

They saw the ramp was still down, thankfully. Samba looked around and saw that there was a panel on the wall with the goron emblem, so he went over and kicked the wall by it. It sprang open, revealing another pipe. "Boroy, this is Samba, do you hear me?" he called through it.

"Loud and clear, brother!" Boroy's voice rang back through the tinny-sounding brass system.

"We're in Molds. I remember that we have to check which machines we can use. How can we tell?"

"We work a lot in pairs, and we like to make work fun, sometimes," Boroy explained. "So, we made the controls for compressing sand into the molds sort of a game of tetherball, if you've ever played that."

"I remember that!" Link piped up, happy smile on his face. "We hit the ball whenever it got close to us. Me and the other children in the village used to play it by hitting it back and forth, trying to see how many hits we could get in before one of us missed or got hit in the nose."

"I hope that the ball was soft..." muttered Samba, raising an eyeridge.

"Mm-hmm! That's the exact point of this," Boroy said. "You and Samba should be able to see a bit lever with a red ball at the end in the back of one of the machines on the first floor. You have to get to either side of the machine, then hit it back and forth 16 times--eight hits per person. Before that, however, you've got to make sure it's got the right parts. You see those Drones?"

They looked back at the mechanoids working with the machines. "Yeah," Samba nodded.

"I know for a fact they'll probably drop the parts you'll need--don't ask me why, but Drones always drop parts for mold-making. Just defeat them and take their parts. You'll need to put them in the panels on the sides, seven in all with three on the second floor. You'll want to put four flat, square or rectangle parts on the first floor, the smaller ones more in back, and then put a curved arch one on the middle top one and the semicircles on the top side ones. Got that?"

"Um...Oh! You mean the bottom floor builds the bottom of the chest and the top makes the lid?" Link checked.

"You're pretty smart, Link!" Boroy complimented. "N-No offence to you, my reptilian brother!" he hastilly added.

Samba sighed. "Don't worry, I know I'm not the brightest torch in the village," he assured, giving a sad smile.

"Alright! You two know what you gotta do, right?" Boroy asked. "Quick summary: Defeat the Drones, put the right parts in the right place, and then compress the sand. You'll need to go into Sand to direct it, though, first," he added. "So just check which one you can use for now."

"Right! We're out!" Samba called before shutting the panel again.

They ran back and checked the backs of the machines. Only the far one, the easternmost one, was usable. The others' levers had broken ba--handles. So, they proceeded into Sand.

There, on the left wall like last time, was the panel. Samba kicked it open. "Samba again, in Sand!"

"Alright! Can you use any machines in Molds?" Boroy asked.

"Yes, the one on the far right...the easternmost one," Samba described.

"Hmmm...Are there any carts going up there, you know?" he asked. "It'd be great if you could make it so that they only traveled up to that one, at least...Don't worry if you get extra sand--only the right amount will be used."

"Right, so we need to direct the traffic...how?" Link queried.

"There should be track switches in there--they're crystal ones you're probably used to by now. There is an intersection before each of the ramps going up to the other two machines. Hit the right switch for each and it'll turn. Once should work. Oh, and you may need to block the tracks to the far right one, since that one goes nowhere for you guys. You can't just stand there, though...

"You can figure out the rest, I hope! Good luck, brothers!" Boroy bade.

"Right, thanks, Boroy! We're out!" Samba called before shutting the panel. "This feels sort of silly, shouting at a pipe like this," he commented before turning and going up the sand hill.

At this time, Link realized something. "Hey, hold on a second, could you?" he asked. "There's one room we've yet to explore..." He pointed at the door at the end of the thin ledge.

"Oh...Alright, since that beamos isn't going to hurt us, go ahead and go there," Samba said. "I'll wait here, if you want."

"Alright," Link nodded. "I'll be back...Give me the Master Sword just in case, quick."

"...I wanna use Sync Mode so make sure you don't hurt yourself," Samba said, crossing his arms and raising an eyeridge. "That way, you can call me if you need me."

"Shouldn't be that bad, since it's a small room," Link shrugged as he recieved the Sword.

Samba frowned a bit, but nodded. "I trust you. You should be able to give the rings to me if you need to, since that room isn't surrounded in violet like the compass room was--that's what blocks us from hiding."

So Link left Samba to sit on the top of the sand hill, considering playing with his guitar again. He went off to the catwalks on the second floor, going from the ones near the chest the map was in and between which a Piece of Heart taunted him down below. He went across sheet metal bridges and across the walks until he got to the ledge. Then, he carefully sidled along, soon reaching the door and opening it.

Inside, he found a small, rectangular room that was covered in rock, of all things. Some sand piled in corners. "Must be a spare sand room," he muttered before hearing a distinct hissing sound. He whipped his head and saw, illuminated by torches, a Gold Skulltula!!

"A...? Well, might as well," Link shrugged. He fired two arrows at it and it was defeated. He boomeranged the leftover token floating on the wall and grabbed it. "Nice." He put it away in the bag before looking again. No chest, no nothing. That was it. "Huh," he tilted his head confusedly before shrugging, turning, and opening the door. He ran and jumped across out, grabbing the edge of the opposite catwalk with his hands. He hoisted up and trotted off to rejoin Samba at the end of it.

"That WAS quick. What was there?" asked Samba, looking up. He was squeezing his toes and fingers around the sand idly, but he stood and brushed his paws off when he saw him coming.

"A Gold Skulltula, nothing else," Link answered. "I got it. Two arrows and it's dead."

"Nice." Samba looked around. "So, let's see what we need to do, now."

"Right. Wanna lead again?"

"You can, and you might as well, since I doubt there's anything magnetic or electric here I can futz with."

Then Link led them along the sand again. He was about to get onto the catwalks again when he looked down and saw..."Hey, that floor switch looks rusty," he said, pointing. "I wonder if a Thunderforge slam will make it move."

"Go ahead and try," Samba welcomed, waving his paw at it.

Link slid down the hill and stopped at the bottom. There, he Thunderforged the switch, which made a grating screech as it was depressed.

A dull thunk sounded before a grinding. Samba, who'd walked along the catwalk above Link, widened his eyes. "A shutter?" At the end of the catwalk, going east-to-west, was a shutter like the one whose lowering had revealed the map. It was lowering, and as it did, sand poured out onto the track in front, covering it. It stopped at the edge of a three-way intersection that ran below them. Samba grinned. "Link! That should stop the Auto Carts from going the wrong way, now!" he pointed, looking back at his capped friend.

Link looked up at his helmeted one, eyebrows raised. "Well, that was easy," he commented. He climbed back up and rejoined Samba before they hunted for the switches. They didn't have to go far. One was around the bend of a long, switchbacking bridge that went around a higher catwalk serving as a wall. They then got down and found another switch in a catwalk-walled nook covered with the bridge above.

With that, the Auto Carts coming along all were directed in the same place. This sadly resulted in some collisions, resulting in only one cart remaining. It had bustled down from the first machine to collect sand. While it did, the one from the second came down and crashed into the one from the third that was going back. They must have been started off and programmed in the right ways that they all had to go and follow the path they needed with no trouble. Now, the last one had nothing in its way (the explosions had utterly destroyed the carts and Auto Carts) as it whirred along, oblivious to the carnage that had inadvertently occured. Samba hid as Link hopped on the passing robot, which climbed to the second floor.

Now in the Molds room again, they got off the Auto Cart and stepped to the side. Link told Samba to stay in his ring before whipping out the Thunderforge, a dangerous smile on his lips. "And here I was thinking I was scaring HIM with my toy," Samba muttered in his ring facetiously as Link went to have his fun smashing up the Drones. He ran forwards, waited until all of them were around him, then initiated a spin attack with the hammer. One hit was all it took to destroy them in explosions. Indeed, they left behind a strangely-shaped metal object. Two were semicular and one was arced. Samba said he'd put them where then needed to go and Link went downstairs to deal with the rest. Samba found the panels on the sides and top were full already, so he just pulled out the old ones and replaced them appropriately. He knew he put the top one in right because it was shaped to fit a nub in a notch.

Link found his job much the same thing. When he was finished, he called Samba and went to the left side of the back of the machine. Indeed, it had been creating nothing since the Drones had been defeated. Samba got on the right side and faced Link. Between them was, indeed, a giant red ball on the end of a metal rod sticking out of the back of the machine. The sides they faced had worn patches where repeated hitting had made the paint come off and reveal the steel. They nodded and drew their swords. They could have activated Sync Mode, but they really didn't need to.

Link started with a swing of his sword. It struck the lever and sent it moderately quickly, causing a grinding sound as it went, to Samba, who smacked it with his. It went slightly faster. They ended up able to hit it four times without just going into a combo each, then they began their four-hit combos on the last hits. Samba ended it, making it SLAM at the end of the machine.

The thing gave one last shaking grind before a block came out, a block made entirely of very firmly-pressed sand. Little notches on it stuck out and allowed Link to hang on and ride--until he hit the electric field going out of the room. Samba shook his head as Link stood up, smiling sheepishly at his forgetfulness.

Link tried to kick the wall to open the shutter, but didn't have enough strength. So, he grimaced and rolled into the wall. THAT did it, and as he got up, he opened the shutter the whole way and shouted into the pipe, "Hoy!!"

"I hear you, Link," Boroy called back. "You're in Molds, right?"

"Yes. We just made the mold," Link reported. "We need to pour metal into it, right?"

"Correct. But first, you've got to get to Pouring. The path of the molds is still the same as before. You have to use the central controls. There's a pipe standing free there, so call me from there."

"Right, we're going."

They trotted out and made their way back into Pouring. Link grinned. "Finally, we get to do that puzzle," he whispered to himself excitedly. "I've been interested by it for so long..."

They soon reached the center of the first floor of Pouring. By now, thanks, no doubt, to the beamos, the enemy count had been reduced to only the bokoblins on the catwalks. They strangely didn't bother to hit them in the center of the room, though. They took in the situation described in the first segment of this dungeon adventure, now paying more attention to more details. The holes each were the kinds of contact circuit that needed to conduct, not supply power. From the looks of things, they would have to move the blocks in a way that specific things were activated. They looked and found a pipe sticking up high out of the floor and angled down like a shower head. (Well, to us; they've never seen showers, only bathtubs, since they weren't rich enough to have much plumbing.)

"We're here," Link called into the pipe.

"Alright, you see the contact circuits without buttons?" asked Boroy. "Those are called conductor nodes. Now that control has been switched over to manual, and that the buckets aren't working automatically thanks to you guys, somehow, all the places where the mold stops have been locked, meaning they can't stop there...so I guess it's UNlocked...Whatever, right, brothers? Anyway, I bet the mold's just going round and round, isn't it?" They looked and saw it was slowly going around them, cycling endlessly around the track. "That circling track is the one the molds go on to get poured in. You'll have to activate certain parts to make things work. But you've got to work either impossibly fast or intelligently, brothers. If you activate any but the right parts, it will be sent to the wrong ones, have nothing poured, and then sent to the Goron-powered Refining conveyer, which it shouldn't be on yet. Or, if it goes and gets poured, it'll either have too little, too much--in which case it will melt and you will have to restart, sadly--or enough, but it will go to the wrong place. It also travels clockwise around you all the time, remember that.

"Hmmm...Let's see. Take a look at the tiles around you," Boroy continued. They turned and looked. "There's twenty-five of them in a grid. I would split them into coordinates, looking north. Number the rows 1 to 5, farthest to nearest, and letter the rows A to E, left to right. This will make the northwestern corner A1, the northeastern E1, and so on. Remember that for now, since it will help you make up a plan. If you need to know what's going on, look in front of you and you should see a signpost-like thing that has a diagram of the track, parts of which are controlled by the four corner posts around you. The lit dots on the ring representing the track are the stopping places accessed, and on the bottom, the lit dot is the one that it'll go out from--you want the left dot. It will continue around the track until it hits an accessed spot, where it will wait for a bit before moving on. Usually, it will wait for something to be poured inside at all points before it moves on, which you'd know to be true if the exit light is flashing, but I'm sure it's broken--you must find the right combination that lets it go out. Don't worry--once it's filled, it will not stop at any other places. It would be great, too, if it could go at least halfway around the track from where it was poured so that it can cool off before leaving. Can you do it?"

"We'll try," Link said back.

"Good luck, brothers," Boroy bade.

Link nodded and looked around him, Samba standing aside and trying to absorb all the information. "I don't think he really helped out, much," he muttered quietly, crossing his arms as he leaned on a pillar.

"Me, neither," Link agreed in a whisper, smiling sheepishly. "Well...Let's see..." [Tip: You can find the drawing for this puzzle in a link down in the author's comments at the bottom of the page. You may want to if you want to understand the wayward way the circuit's connected. Besides, aside from the graphite smudge, it looks interesting, I'd say.]

He mentally split the tiles up as instructed. Looking at it then, he found the following: One node was in each row and column except D--B1, E2, C3, A4, and E5. A black block sat stolidly in D5, making it useless. The conductor blocks were placed in B2, C2, and E3. He looked below and found a tile in the floor outside the square. It was black and had a lightning bolt colored yellow on it. He noticed that pulses of yellow light traveled from it, like on the floor in that mini-room in Power. 'Must be the power source.' So, the power came from a tile south of C5. It was conducted by the lines and screws. He wondered what was needed to do.

"Link?"

Link turned to Samba. "Yes?"

Samba raised an eyeridge. "Why don't we just not worry if we mess up with the mold and try until that indicator thing tells us that we did it right?" he asked. "I have a feeling there are many axsss korfols--false friends." (Yes, his language used three of their s's in that word.) "There's gonna be a lot of solutions, and I bet there's a really ingenous, complicated way to do things, but something tells me it's WAY simpler than you'd think."

"Probably, but let's just experiment," Link said, and he walked over to the node at E2, which he saw would activate the NE corner. He Thunderforged it and watched the power swim through it to the pillar. The display said that, on the track, he had accessed the NE and E spots. (There was one for each compass direction, making it easy to describe.) The right exit light on the bottom, between S and SE, was lit solid. He removed his hammer before the mold went off and studied the array again. This time, he placed pushed the block on C2 down to C3 and activated the central node. He then conducted B1 and activated the NW pillar. This made the the NW and N spots light up, and the light on the left turn on but not flash, which he was aiming for. So, he took the hammer out and went to A4 to activate the SW pillar. This one lit up the SW and W places and lit the left light again.

As he expected, he got access to the remaining two (S and SE) when he activated the SE pillar, which he needed to push a block onto E2 to do first. (He pushed the first block out of C3 first, though.) This caused the light to...do nothing. He sighed and pulled his hammer from the corner, instead trying B1 now.

The left light turned on again.

Link raised an eyebrow at this. "So the one activated next determines which light's on, and the west ones activate the left and so on," he theorized. He removed the hammer, pushed the block that was in E2 to E4 for now, pushed another onto E2, and then pushed the third onto B1. The light went from out to right, then left. To his surprise, when he hammered on E5,

THE LIGHT BLINKED.

Right, but it blinked. Excited, he took his hammer out and ran to A4 and hammered. 'This way, I can get a left light blink--ing...' He looked up and saw a solid left light. He then realized something.

When he took out the hammer, he must have backtracked the order. He had gone from east alone to west to east again when he activated the blinking light. But when he took it out and put it in the other one, it stayed and was solid. 'Maybe the machine works now so that it blinks after it goes back from visiting the other side once,' he wondered, getting slightly excited again.

He removed everything first to make sure, then

1. pushed a block onto E2, activating NE (NE and E) and a solid right light,

2. pushed a block onto B1, activating NW (NW, N, NE, and E) and a solid left light,

3. pushed the last block onto E5, activating SE (SE, S, NW, N, NE, and E) and a blinking right light, then (moment of truth!), finally,

4. Thunderforged A4, activating SW (all points--NW, N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, and W) and A BLINKING LEFT LIGHT!!

"YES!!" Link shouted, pumping his fist. He watched as the mold stopped entirely on the S spot. "Keep alternating! So it's E2, B1, E5, A4, leaving the center alone!"

"I wondered if the center wasn't as 'central' to this plan as it appeared to be," chuckled Samba, smirking. He walked to the pipe and shouted into it. "Hey, Boroy! Link figured out the mold track puzzle!"

"Great job, brother!" Boroy came back, accompanied by a sound that must have been him clapping. "Now, Samba, you can do this next one on your own while he sticks around down there, if you want. An extra set of eyes might help, though."

"I can solve this again," Link said, taking out the Thunderforge and coming over. "It's stopped on a spot that's activated still if I go, anyway, so it's alright."

"Link, you and Samba head up, then, to the western catwalk, and you'll find the panel there. Until then, brothers!"

They went on. After slaying the annoying bokoblins, Link and Samba opened the panel between the two electrified support bars Samba had swung on. "Up there? Great! Now you've gotta make sure the correct bucket gets filled and pours into the right place. Be careful, though, since the southwestern spot for the buckets to stop's been letting them through, annoyingly enough. That, or it stops them and doesn't dump them. See the crystal switches around the ceiling mechanism? Those are actually indicator lights that tell which bucket is going and which dumping point is ready. The normal switches are dumping points. If it's lit, then the bucket will stop and dump."

"Why don't you have a switch for the green bucket?" asked Link.

"Should be on the bottom, but I guess it's broken," Boroy replied. "Well, then, you'll have to do some interesting work. The biggest bucket is hopefully moving around instead of sitting there, since it only goes around the main track, which circles clockwise, too. By the way, do you guys see a little diagram on the inside of the panel you opened?"

"You mean one that's got colored lines and--" Samba began.

"Yup, that's it, brothers," Boroy interrupted, answering. "The lines are the paths the buckets take. There should also be a size chart with a goron and five buckets below it." They looked. "Use that for reference for the MOLD, not the bucket. If the mold's as big as a goron, use the bucket as big as the goron on the chart, understand?"

"The mold was about as tall as me," Samba said. He was a little bit taller than Link, probably thanks to his big footpaws, which will often happen with bipedal creatures walking like that--a few inches extra due do foot size.

"Then you should know how big you are compared to us," Boroy said. "You're sort of tallish."

'I'm about a goron's head below a goron,' Samba estimated. 'Link's about a head and a half.'

"Alright, one more interesting fact. Avert circuits, the proper name for coil circuits, are connected to the switches. Hitting the switches makes energy that travels through the metal into the coils. Interesting, no? Alright, I'm sure you can figure things out, now, brothers!"

"Okay, thank you, Boroy!" Link called back before turning to Samba. They left the panel open to refer to the chart and diagram if need be. "Alright, I think it looks like I'll need to shift the mold down to..." he began, pausing to think. 'Halfway around...' "...the western stop. You look at the chart, figure out which size to use, and go around with that red one and hit the switches you need to. Stop before you get fried, of course."

Samba looked at the chart and figured he'd need that blue one. That one went down the western one, over the double-loop thing (going on the west loop's curving part, then joining the eastern's straight part), and up the east before going and doing a loop around the main track. He would need to make sure that it went around to one of the three pouring places and then back to the western dump spot. But that green one...What if it dumps before the blue one? And what happens when two same-direction buckets bump into one another? 'Grrrrmm...'

He had a couple choices. First, he could get on the red one, ride it, then get the blue one behind him, and have the green behind THAT. Then, hoping he doesn't get burnt to a crisp, he would keep on and hit the proper switches as he passed them. That was if only the green one didn't do anything when it collides with another one--if it just stopped.

Or, to play it safe, he could first go around on the red one and hit the switches EXCEPT for the one he needs to dump from, though he didn't quite know how he'd manage that since there was no...He remembered the fact Boroy gave him. 'It can go through...?!' He shook his head and continued. He can then hang back and wait until it was safe for the blue one to go in front of the green...That's it!

"I'll make sure that a northern point is on so that they can stop and accept the load of metal," he planned aloud. "Then, I'll have the green one go around and stop, then go a ways in front of the blue. The blue will follow around and stop when the green stops. The blue will go and get some metal, then I'll activate the western point so it'll dump after the green one is past it."

He nodded and, double-checking his ammunition and magic power, went to work. He hopped onto the red and rode it until it was about to enter the loop. Then, he waited for the green to go in front. After it did, he got right behind it to give him as much room as possible from a rear crash if he had to stop. He went and hit the northwestern switch off, then stopped it before he got a very hot shower. He noticed that the northeastern switch, which he wanted to be the first stop, was lit, so he left it and the northern one (which was off) alone. The lizalfos continued around, hitting the eastern, southeastern, and finally southern switches before he got off, turned the red bucket off, and trotted around the catwalk to a place he could see things well but get to the western switch's place and activate it in time. (He had the red bucket stop in a good place to hit it, so he was good.) He made the blue bucket stop before the turn and waited for the green bucket.

The green one stopped and dumped at the northeastern stop before proceeding around again. Samba waited until it was about four seconds ahead of the blue before starting the blue again and waiting. After a half minute, the green came and stopped, at which time he quickly turned the blue one off, then kept his aim on the switch as he kept his eye on the green bucket. As soon as the green one was moving again, he launched his pebble at the blue switch and bolted to the western side. He jumped onto the red bucket and got Volt Claw ready. When the green one began to pass, he started charging a blast of electricity. As soon as it was clear, he hoped beyond hope and fired at the flat metal square the western switch should be and waited a few seconds.

Both boys crowed in victory as the blue bucket stopped and tipped, pouring its contents into the waiting mold below.

When the mold was filled, it went clockwise around. Samba quickly raced around to see if the green bucket would dump its contents onto the already-full mold. It was already done before the mold came under the spot, thankfully. So, he jumped down and rolled on the ground to meet Link.

"Great job, Samba!" complimented Link as he stayed at the middle part. "Go and stop the Auto Cart from dumping off the load, somehow!"

"Uhm...how--Oh! Right!" Samba nodded, thinking quickly, 'I almost forgot! Auto Carts are susceptible to magnetism. If I just aim at it and quick raise my paw and quickly turn Volt Claw on and off, it should work!! It'll flip a switch and turn off for until I flip it again!' He turned and dashed as fast as he could to the Auto Cart, which was waiting for the load that was now turning down the correct exit. He skidded and raised his paw. "Not yet, little guy!" he said, flashing Volt Claw. The lights on the machine turned off. Just in time, too, since the mold dropped down onto it. "Yas!"

Link called, "Got it?" and received a positive response. "Good! I'm getting tired of this room, frankly," he said, pulling out the Thunderforge and trotting to the pipe. "Boroy! We need to put it on the conveyer belt into the next room, right?" he shouted into it.

"You got it, brother!" confirmed Boroy, who then shouted quickly, "But WAIT!" Link flinched at the volume. Calmer, the goron continued, "The machines aren't set up right. You'll want to wait there and guard the mold while Samba handles it, or vice-versa. Well...Which one of you can use avert circuits?"

"Um...The coils, right? Samba's spell, Volt Claw, handles that," Link replied.

"Then guard the mold and have him go in. If you are too far away from the chest from now on, the monsters are SURE to destroy it! As long as someone's around it, though, you'll be fine," Boroy informed. "I'll fill Samba in on things when he gets there! Just have him go to the end of Mechanical Refining!"

"Right!" Link turned and ran to the mold, where Samba was waiting, drumming his claws on his bicep in time with the beat of the strangely-synchronized noise around them while sitting on the Auto Cart. Samba raised his eyeridges when Link made him leader as he ran over, then looked up when Link stopped by him. "Samba, you go on through to the first conveyer room," Link pointed at the foyer door. "I've got to stay and guard this."

"What for?" Samba asked, standing up and tilting his head.

"You've got to do the next part of the preparation," Link answered, crossing his arms. "Something to do with avert circuits. Boroy wants you to go to the end of the room--I assume that means the end where the door to the compass room is."

"Well, the room's pretty linear, so..." Samba muttered, scritching under a helmet strap. "(Man, I'd better be careful not to let this touch my hide, it's gotta be like an oven by now...)" He shrugged. "Alright, I guess. You'll stay and guard, yas?"

"Yass," Link returned, smiling.

Samba let out a laugh and shook his head. "You're letting yourself hiss too much," he told him, yet he smiled as he spoke. "It's just a LITtle shorter: Yas."

"Yas. Better?" Link chuckled.

"Yas. Good luck," Samba smiled over his shoulder as he trotted off.

Samba returned to the room he hadn't seen in an age, he felt like, and found himself feeling much better than he had when he had come in the last time. One reason was that he needn't fear the beamos. Another was that he could now get to a chest that was on the second floor really nearby, on a little balcony above him to his left (south). He trotted to the elevator on the ground on the left side of the first machine on the belt, and stopped, looking at a panel in it. It was really simple, with nothing but a red, simple lever on it. It was down. He shrugged and flipped the bar up. The elevator jarred, startling him (and making him grab his tail reflexively), then started up. It stopped right next to the balcony, whose chest held a red rupee. A broken console sat in the wall beside it, giving the purpose for the balcony. "Nice," he commented on the treasure in Lizalfos before pocketing it. (When alone, he reverted to his native tongue.) Reboarding the elevator, he went down again.

Then, he walked past the machine and the beamos, waving at it. He noticed the coils in the wall again, but decided not to interact with them for the time being. He instead focused on getting to the end of the room. He passed the machines, jumping over and across the conveyer belts, and got to the end, where he saw again the contraption from when he saw it before. Also by it in a corner was another standing pipe. Using Hylian again, he called Boroy. "I'm here, and I take it I've got to solve this puzzle, now?"

"You got it, brother!" came the response. "Alright, you've got a bit of a different kind of job, this time. Link had the easy one. You've got the hard one."

Samba groaned. "Bet he's going to be jealous," he joked to himself.

"Don't worry, though, it's not that bad," assured Boroy. "You just have to keep more things in mind. Take a look at the thing in front of you. Tell me what you see."

Samba turned and looked. He wet his throat and began, "Alright...um...Okay, there's a big, long box far from me. There's four different-colored glass things--"

"Light bulbs, remember from my cheat sheet?"

"--yeah, sorry, there's four, and they match up with a coil that's coming at me from the machine. There's a block with a lightning bolt on it in place of a fifth, which has a crystal switch on top of it that's lit green, and from there, it's another tile puzzle thing. This one's...three by five. I see a block on the outside of each side that has a hole in it, and I think I can push them around on the floor until they hit these stops."

"Pretty good! What's on the tiles?"

"Little, fist-sized blocks on a stick with handles in the center that have coils sticking out of some sides. A normal straight coil on the same kind of support is on a couple. They all work like avert circuits?"

"Right! This is the biggest avert circuit in the factory. This array is what channels power to the four machines on the conveyer. Your job is line up coils together so that they are pointing at each other, maximizing the electric energy--getting the most out of it. Your goal is to make it so that only specific machines are on or off. I'm not gonna let you guess which ones you need to turn on, I'll tell you: You're aiming to turn on the blue and yellow lights, which each tell what machine's on, and turn the other two off." (At that moment, all but the blue light were on.) "There's enough space between the coils for you to walk around, which is probably better than figuring out the complicated-even-for-me control panel that's probably broken, anyway. You have to turn the coils to face each other, going at 90 degrees per turn. The catch is that you can't let a coil on the outside be emitting electricity without it going somewhere. That's where those outside blocks come in; they catch an out-facing coil and direct the power somewhere else. You only have ONE per side, though, so make it count. There's a switch atop the place the power comes out; turn it red to shut it off and green to turn it on. You can't leave the room if it's off, though, because of something I need to fix still. So, any questions?"

"Urrrmmm...So, I turn the tiles until they're facing the way I want them and make sure none stick out without the blocks catching them?" he checked. "And I bet I can't have any electricity going out inside the array if there's nothing catching, right?"

"Right," Boroy warned him. "But otherwise, good luck, brother! Oh, and be careful if they're on. Electric shock smarts."

"Alright, thanks!" Samba then turned and sighed dramatically. He groaned in his language, "This. Stinks."

Taking another look at the puzzle, it was really 4x5, but one row was solid, attatched to the machine. The top row had down-facing coils all along except for the power source block. Down in the main puzzle, there were four kinds of coil blocks, each looking like a letter or symbol: L's, +'s, I's, and T's. There was only one +, only one block that could make or break him, and the majority appeared to be T's. I will try to show the rows as he saw them as follows, with the following guide:

*The - by T's is the way the middle coil of the block is facing for sideways ones: **-T** or **T-**. **_T_** means it's an upside-down T. **T** means it looks like a T.

*If I'm saying **7**, I mean that the L piece is rotated like that (like an L mirrored at its vertex). **L** means it looks like an L. Finally, **J** is a backwards L. (There are no r-like ones in this diagram.)

***I**'s are ones facing how they should (the ones at the top attatched to the machine that can't be moved in this diagram) and **--**'s are I's facing sideways.

*I trust you can tell where the "catcher blocks" are, since no end can face out without being caught. It is impossible to "draw" it without ASCII.

*The top row has **letters** representing the color light each I coil leads to. The **v** is the power source, telling the direction it comes out. There are **underscores** between to enforce the fact that these are unrotatable.

**Ir_v_Ib_Iy_Ig**

**T- -T -- T- J**

**L _T_ T + 7**

**-- T _T_ J L**

And that was your meeting of novelization and ASCII-less walkthrough for today. (I really would have preferred ASCII, but you are likely reading this in a variable-width font, so it would have been rendered useless.) [Tip: I redrew this puzzle and it is available down in the author's comments at the bottom of the page.]

Samba, however, probably would have liked a walkthrough, himself, at first. He first turned off the switch above the power source to handle the coils without Volt Claw, desiring to save himself the hassle. The machines powered down, the door behind him barred, and the conveyer belts stopped. From there, he jumped up onto the catching block below the bottom row's T and looked out at the array, brain working.

Samba wasn't the best at puzzles. He wasn't stupid, but he wasn't the brightest. He knew Link would have been more comfortable with this, but he was the one chosen to stay there. How could he figure this out?

'Hmmm...I think I should leave that one coming from the power source alone...and I definitely need to make the one going into the red coil a T by turning it once clockwise, since that's the only way it definitely won't be activated. That means I'll have to push the left catching block up. I think I can actually...Yeah...' He got off and went to work, turning them this way and that. He turned the T before the red coil once clockwise into a T, the I before the blue (into an I for real), the three L's in the lower-right corner once clockwise, the one in the very corner again, and the L before the green once counter-clockwise. Then he pushed the catcher block he had been on all the way to the right and the catcher block on the left all the way up. He turned it all on.

The same electric blue energy he uses when making a "coil" with his claws came out of the power source and followed along the coils, going through the air. The machined needed hummed to life, the doors unbolted, and the conveyer belt moved again...wait. "...Hey...It's moving realllly slow..." he muttered, leaning over and inspecting it, frowning. He then raised his eyeridges, whipping his head around to the third, unused catcher block. "Another area--!? MORE LIKE THE CONVEYER BELTS!!" he roared in agitation.

"Oh, forgot about that," Boroy's voice came from the pipe. "Sorry, brother! You have to make sure the catcher blocks all are getting power for the conveyer belt to move at its proper speed, unless you WANT to wait an hour."

"Alright, I'll figure it out," Samba said before getting up on his perch again. "Grrrmmmmm..."

It took a bit of time, during which he eventually got back to the problem of just connecting it all so it gets to the proper places. So, after a burst of inspiration, he fixed the coils around again, moving only four. The T's in the third row he turned so that their "backs" were to each other (well, tops), the T on the bottom of the power source's column he turned once counter-clockwise, and the L on the bottom of the + he turned back to the way it was. He was about to turn on the power again before he remembered to push his perch back to its original position.

"I have to tie up the loose ends," he recalled, pushing the block. "I have to use these catcher blocks to--*" He stopped and blinked, the catcher block in the position he was pushing for (its original position), before he growled in dispair, turned, and slumped down against the block. "Aaaaoooww..." he grumbled before banging the metal cube with a fist. "Dammit! Ow...That's really hard...Wait." He rapped it with a corner of one of the plates backing his gauntlet. "That doesn't sound hollow..."

"What's inside these blocks, by the way?" he asked Boroy.

"Oh, fired clay," answered the goron. "We put it in things we don't want electricity that travels through air to go through. Having a rough time, brother?"

"A little..." Samba sighed and shook his head. "I'll figure it out, I promise," he said before hopping back up onto his perch.

'What am I doing WRONG?' he thought. 'I need to think this through...'

"Remember, brother, sometimes you need to think outside the box," reminded Boroy from the pipe. "Tell me when you're finished, okay?"

"Right," Samba called unenthusedly. ''Think outside the box,' huh? Well, there's not much I CAN do outside the box,' he mused. He shook his head. 'Grah, Samba, you know what that expression means--think beyond what limits you already have.' This made him raise his eyeridges a little. 'Well, might as well...What am I most afraid of changing?' He looked at the T the power would come through. It had remained turned on its side, the third end sticking out to the left. 'What can I do? I can't turn it any other way, or else I have to make that long coil in front of the blue one go sideways. And then, how can I get to the other coil? They have to be pointing at--'

He looked up, eyeridges raised wholly. "--each other..."

There was a straight coil set to recieve the electricity for the blue bulb. He knew that. He didn't think much else, though, until now. "That's right! I fired pretty far a bit ago!" he remembered, thinking back to the shot-of-faith before. "There was a coil behind that spot the crystal switch was! I went through metal!" He looked at the straight one aligned with the blue coil, narrowing his eyes. He pointed, announcing, "Those straight coils are nothing BUT metal! All the other kinds have those clay-filled blocks in the center! The wood's got just loops like needle eyes the coil threads through on those ones, so it won't conduct down. Now, let's hope electricity running through won't be a problem..."

He set to work. He found that turning the T the electricity came through at the start once clockwise didn't work. From there, though, he quickly formed a plan and followed it. He hopped back onto his perch and fired a pebble at the switch.

The doors unlocked.

The machines turned on again.

And the conveyer belt ran at full trundle.

Samba roared in joy and jumped so high as he punched the air above, he realized he was luck not to be under the conveyer belt on the second floor nearby. This made him realize something. "Those ones aren't working..."

"Boroy! Some of the second-floor conveyers aren't working even though I solved the damn thing right!" he reported.

"Don't worry, they're supposed to be like that. Trust me, you'll WANT them to be like that," Boroy chuckled. "Alright, I think you can--wait, no, not yet. Here's whatcha do. Have Link turn on the Auto Cart you turned off by flipping a switch on its side--" Samba snout-palmed at this waste of magic. "--and then turn off the conveyers after it gets to the first beamos so that it can be guarded. Then come here. See you soon, brother!" And he was out.

Samba nodded and ran to the window the conveyer belt came from that they couldn't go through from the defense mechanisms. "Link, you're gonna be proud of me," Samba called.

Link chuckled and ran over. "I am," he answered, smiling slyly. "I found out I can sorta turn on Sync Mode without turning it on--I could see what you were doing and hear you and everything, but either you were too focused or you just didn't notice. That looked like a tricky little puzzle; I didn't think of the solution until you said the facts aloud before carrying it out. Good job!" He clapped.

Samba raised his eyeridges at the pseudo-Sync Mode, then looked happy, but a smidgen disappointed. "Thank you very much," he held a paw. He nodded and looked serious again. "Alright, then, you know what to do."

Link searched and searched, but couldn't find the switch. "Maybe it's a different kind of Auto Cart," Link shrugged helplessly.

Samba rolled his eyes. "I think Boroy's just having fun watching us squirm," he chuckled without much of a smile. He hopped onto the other side of the conveyer to get a clear shot before flipping the internal switch on the Auto Cart. As SOON as he saw the lights turn on, he was off. He ducked under the ramp conveyer and jumped onto the other one. He turned on that and followed it until he had a clear shot. He took it and fired a pebble at the switch and turned again. He breathed a sigh of relief--the metal, chest-like object whose sand shell had apparently been blown apart by the electricity-firing needles sat just coming out from the first arch-like machine. He used the switch to move it halfway onto the turning belt and stopping it again before he ran out to the window. The needles were inactive, so he went out of it since the door was barred.

"Alright, let's head over to him to see what he wants," Samba said to Link as he hopped off of the belt in Pouring.

They made their way through the foyer and the door into the conveyer room with the gorons in it. The belt there was still running, apparently separate from the device Samba had left. They rode it to the ramp and got off. Link had to Thunderforge the Pegbot again, but they got up to Boroy again. "Thanks for all the help, by the way," Samba said, smiling and waving as they got up.

Boroy shook his head, hands up. "All I'm doing is helping, brothers," he insisted.

'We noticed,' both swordsmen thought somewhat annoyedly, but not that much. They both enjoyed the challenge.

Boroy smiled at Link. "Alright, you stay here with me, okay, Link?" he asked. He gave a sympathetic look at Samba. "Samba, you're going to have to do a lot more legwork, I'm afraid," he revealed, holding the back of his head and the other hand up.

Samba sighed. "I was expecting that," he muttered.

Boroy crossed his arms, looking serious. "Alright, this is the final stretch, brothers," he announced. "You're going to have to make use of that Sync Mode now. Link, you're going to have to use the Thunderforge here, and Samba, you're going to have to handle the chest. By the way, what exactly does Volt Claw do?" he asked, tilting his head.

"It lets me handle electrified objects, use magnetism, and fire bolts of electricity like through an avert circuit," came the answer.

Boroy raised his eyebrows. "Woah. Sounds powerful." He smiled determinedly, though, putting a fist in his palm. "That just makes things easier, though! See, the kind of metal we're using for the chest reacts to magnetism. You'll be able to use that to stop it from going to the wrong places. Remember, though, you can only pull normal metal objects towards you--they're not magnetic themselves so they can't be pushed.

"Now, then, Samba, before you leave, you'll need these," he said, pulling something out of a pocket on his loincloth. He held it Samba, who took it from the big hand. It was a small, brown sack. He also received a small, grey one. Both jangled with tiny metal contents. "The brown bag you dump into the second of the two machines you activated, through a panel on the side," he explained. "That one fits special objects onto the item being worked on, particularly hinges at the moment. It should be able to detect the chest shape coming in and put the right hinges on. Put those in and it'll activate a unique set of orders and install them loosely, as well as the extras the chest needs."

Samba nodded, putting the bags in his bag. "What of the other?"

"That's the key in its parts. When you get the chance, dump it out into the chest. Remember, the brown bag goes into the machine you activated that's the second in order of the two we're using. The westernmost one," he decided to say after Samba AND Link looked a little lost. "Sorry, Brothers. Anyway, Samba, get going. Link, wait here until Samba calls. Good luck!"

So they parted again. Samba made his way back into the room and found, to his relief, the object was safe. It was interesting; four sides were fused together on top of a bottom, and on top, attatched by a thin bit of metal, was the lid. Some bits stuck out where the metal went through cracks or something, he assumed. He shrugged and went on to the machines. He remembered that the machines had colored bands on them that, incedentially, matched the lights from the avert circuit of doom. The ones he activated--blue and yellow--matched the two he saw in about the third fourth of the conveyer's path. It went through the yellow first, so he went to the left one and interacted with it.

He pulled open a panel and saw a box inside. The box had round pits in it with holes in the center. He looked in the brown sack he got and found things that resembled post ball earrings without backs. They were steel. He placed them in the machine and found they fit perfectly, so he put them all in and shut the panel. He trotted over to the pipe. "Alright, I placed the ball things in the blue-banded arch machine," he said.

"Good! Now, before you turn it on, we've got to figure out how to activate two special, hinged conveyers that are on the second floor. They're used to allow things to skip the first sorting turns. Turn them on if you can and then let Link handle the rest. You might wanna turn on Sync Mode when you're ready for Link to get going."

"Alright," Samba nodded.

"It sounds strange hearing you through these," Link commented.

"Same to you. Alright, I'm going."

Samba had an idea what he needed to do. He traveled back to the avert circuits in the wall, the first ones they'd seen in the room. He used Volt Claw on them and each one's light lit up. "I think that's good," he muttered. He hoped Link was ready and tried to activate it. It worked.

Link, meanwhile, was waiting with Sarbog. While he did, he examined the balcony he was on again, closer this time than last time. Among the consoles were five different contact circuits. Boroy stood over one in the center that seemed to be normal. Behind the railing around the ramp, in the northwestern corner of the balcony and basically above the Pegbot (on front and back) were two of the kinds in rings that were in there. There was a line design on the wall above them. The left one had a 60-degree angle on it with a dot on the vertex, which pointed left. The notches below on the outside of the ring had the same design, but one had a leg going straight down and the other had one going straight up. The inner circle's notch was lined up with the one going down. He saw that a single line with a dot on the left was on the wall above the right; this was copied down on the floor again, with one being flat while the other was angled up. This second one was the one matched up with the inner part's notch.

On the wall facing the top of the ramp was another contact circuit, as he saw before. This one's symbols on the outside ring were the same as the one on the floor in the corner, near the door, except the one on the wall had red symbols while the the other had black. One was a straight line with a dot in the middle. Another was another 60-degree angle with the dot on the vertex, but the point was up, this time. Currently, both were indicating the flat line.

Link lifted his head when he felt a pulse in his ring and a strange feeling in his head. 'Sync Mode!' He willed seeing his partner, too, and it activated. "Sword?" he asked.

"Right," Samba said, willing it to his partner.

"Thank you," Link said before turning to Boroy. "Alright, ready," he said.

"Great! You'll be using the Thunderforge on those contact circuits," he said, pointing at the ones on the eastern part of the room that he had just been looking at. "Those control the hinged conveyers. Look at your map for a moment and I'll show you what I mean."

Link opened his map, and both were surprised to see that it filled both of their fields of vision instead of just Link's. Boroy flipped it to the second floor and indicated the room Samba stood in. Link looked at it closer. There was an interesting system of conveyer belts there, most of them being in the second part of the room (the part where the turns into the compass room were).

Starting on top at the western part, Link saw a conveyer that the map said came from the first floor going south against the west wall. It turned a corner squarely (not curved like real-life conveyers; these could turn tightly in a way that the curve was almost an angle and that just going straight on them in a direction it turned was the same as a normal forwards conveyer). It went east along the south wall for a way before ending in midair, no conveyer to guide whatever was needed to the next system.

A straight conveyer like the other started along the north wall, starting a bit before the other ended. This turned right, touching the top of a platform colored yellow, oddly, and went south one space, the platform being one space big itself. (Link and Samba noticed the room could be split up into squares--spaces--whose sides were as long as a belt was across, since three belts were found side by side by side with no room between on the map. This made things a bit easier.) It was corner-touching (southeast-to-northwest) with another belt that went the same way. This belt went forwards south until it hit the interesting part.

The belt would carry whatever's on it onto a turn that went west to south, carrying it further south but never letting it get back; it was like merging onto a one-way road at a turn, basically. This carried it, from the turn, two spaces south before turning two turns left onto two spaces of north-going conveyer that had outlines around each space, making two boxes. A black triangle pointed up from the bottom of the first and pointed up at the top of the second. This met a west-going conveyer space before finding another set. This set was outlined in red. This one met another double turn, this one right, before it was carried down, then right onto the belt that separated the two boxed sections. This went on basically indefinitely, potentially, if one could get around the middle, west belt somehow, going in a figure-8.

A thick line went across the north side of the first turn after the second set of boxed belts. This must have been a barrier of sorts. Beyond it was one belt going north, then a single right turn. A belt that went down and south was following the turn, and Link remembered wondering about items falling onto it and breaking. On the southern end, the ramp came up again and turned left to go onto the conveyer out. South one space of that was, oddly, a belt going to it, too, which was fenced off on the left side, rendering it useless.

Boroy pointed at the boxed ones. "These are the hinged belts I was talking about," he said. "Take a look at the first floor again."

There, a black, dotted-line box went around the first turn into the compass room and the one above it. A space later, the red ones were there, covering the second turn.

"These are where they'll go. They are either straight and on the second floor or they're angled and bridge those turns on the first," explained Boroy. "Link, you have to use the Thunderforge as a lever to turn the dials and make them lower. We need to bridge across the turns. Then, look at these black lines here."

He indicated lines that were exactly like the ones he saw around the first set of contact switch...dials, as Boroy put it, he reexamined. They were in the places the sorting bars were on the conveyer.

"You have to turn these the other way. Use the other two dials."

Link nodded and put the map away, bringing what was in front of them back to them. Boroy faced Link and continued, "But you have to do this quickly, Brother, since they only work when the conveyer is running. I would put the hammer in the first bridging belt's place and wait for the switch to be hit by Samba, then immediately turn it. It'll be tricky, Brother, but you can do it! Just hit them all and switch them."

Link nodded and went to the circuit dial in the corner by the door. He slammed the Thunderforge into it and waited. "Your move, Samba," he said, switching leaders.

"Gotcha," Samba nodded before he scampered off. He hopped back onto his perch from the puzzle and readied a pebble. "Ready?"

"Do it."

Samba threw and switched.

Link pushed the handle like a horizontal lever as soon as the stone left the claws, and soon it gave. It clicked 60 degrees around before stopping. He pulled it out in a hurry and went to the wall one. This one he pulled the handle up around its axis in the circuit before it stopped, as well. He proceeded with this for the other two.

Meanwhile, Samba was running over to the bridges area. The bridges came down rather quickly, actually, but not slammingly fast. They just BARELY caught the chest, and the lizalfos breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he heard a mechanical groan behind him and turned to see the abacas-like set of bars and rollers move to let the conveyer's contents continue. Then, the one nearby the avert circuit puzzle swung right. It stopped, now directing traffic right. "So far, so good, Link," Samba said.

Link took out the Thunderforge and wiped his brow. "Good," he breathed. "Next?"

"Great work, Brothers. Next, Samba...can he hear me?" Link nodded. Boroy nodded. "Right. Samba, you've got to go up and onto the conveyers that aren't moving. They're on a different circuit--you can start them moving with a wall-mounted crystal switch above the yellow-banded machine, which you can walk on. But don't. Your goal is to get it out of the room safely. And don't worry, it's pretty durable." And he was silent.

As Boroy spoke, Samba watched the chest go down and up the bridges. It went around the real turn when he was finished. "Right." He saw the conveyer stop and the first machine work on it. Then the second did. When it came out, the lid was detatched and the corners were reinforced with a brass angle plate with rivets in it. It was hinged in back...and had hinges on the outsides on the corners, too, oddly, though they had no purpose. 'Must be design.' This was safely carried on. He got up on the belt and rode with it. "Oh, Link? I think I might need to be leader a bit," he said while he sat on the belt ahead of it. He got the sword. "Thanks."

He had to stand and move when the rollers didn't take too kindly to him, but he was able to rest his legs a bit, which the rings made unneeded but his mind still wanted. Link did the same (while wishing he could be on the ride, too). At last, Samba stood as the turn came and pushed them onto the stopped belt, like an escalator pushes you onto the floor again.

Samba knew that now was the time, so he turned and opened the chest. Inside, the balls had been attatched via more useless hinges to the inside corners, which had been reinforced with square poles with holes drilled in them. This also allowed some wood or more metal to reinforce the thin sides of steel. Samba got out the bag with the key and opened it. There were way more than three parts, but they were all copies. So, he assembled a key and placed it in the bottom before closing the lid. He noticed two latches on it, too, now, and he shut them to keep the key inside. He tied the strings of the sacks in loops around the halfloops to act as makeshift locks. Then, he hopped over to the next belt and then to the first machine's top.

He struck the switch and watched the conveyers come to life. Well, one--the chest moved, but the belt by him did not. He raised an eyeridge and hit the switch again. The belts switched. Again, and the same thing happened. He determined the belts switched whichever was moving with each hit. So, since he could be somewhat lazy, he decided to let the belts carry the chest instead of moving it himself. Besides, it was more fun the way he wanted to do things. Before that, though, he noticed the barrier to the way out of the loop was something pretty thick that he couldn't beat down, at least without the Thunderforge. He could vault it, though. Also, ahead, between the south- and north-going belts were walls like it, as well as directly left of him, preventing him from avoiding the looping system. He thought for a moment since the chest was still. 'I'll have to pull that around, since there's a space to the side of that one, but...hmmm...Heeeey...'

He waited at the end of the non-moving belt while the chest was carried towards the end. Then he held both paws up and grabbed it magnetically. It went straight towards him, and he had to sidestep and switch to one paw to halve the speed, drawing it halfway onto the belt before stopping and activating the top belt.

He then jumped south to the normally moving belt and walked, keeping place. He pulled the chest from the corner when it came and then switched leaders.

Link got the hint and ran to raise the bridges again, but only did the first. Samba rode with the chest as it went, so he waited until they were on the first bridge before lowering it again. Then, he waited for them to get onto the second before raising it. "Hope you got a plan," he said, switching.

"I do," Samba nodded, hopping around to the other side of the barrier. He pulled the chest up and kept pulling with his Volt Claw, which actually made his arms move to it when it was still caught behind the fence. However, when it started to go off after he was dropped to the ramp, he stopped it and backtracked a bit.

"What the...?" Link muttered.

'I hope I didn't just make a massive fool of myself,' Samba gulped. He ran forwards when the chest was above the belt he was on now and held his Volt Claw up. He grinned when his arms snapped to place, then raise above his head. Link saw the chest drag up and then center over where he suspected Samba was. Samba let the spell go until he saw the turn about to come. Then he used it again, arms holding up, and kept them up. The chest continued off the turn and off the edge, falling right on top of Samba's waiting paws. "Ta-daaaah!" he sang, releasing the spell but not the chest, and Link facepalmed, shaking his head. Samba grinned proudly as he held it above him, going up the ramp. He set it down in front of him after turning.

"You are a silly lizard, you know that?" Link chuckled.

"Hey, helps," Samba shrugged.

"Is he finished there?" Boroy asked. Link nodded. "Wonderful! We're ALMOST done, brothers! Quick, the map again, and just look at the room you're in, Link. And Samba, don't worry, there're no electric traps."

Link brought it up and quickly took in the room. Instead of snaking exactly around like on the first floor, the conveyer belt snaked around in a different way. It came east from the foyer a ways before turning right, left, and going forwards and down...which spit it onto a conveyer on the first floor that was meant to join the bottom one but now was blocked by some debris wedged between the belts, rendering it a dead end. Beyond this was another two lefts and a right turn. A bit forwards, then right-left to forwards again. It went on until it was up against the balcony, turning right, a space forwards, and right again. It went south until it met a ramp that went down west. The first floor had a right turn, a space forwards, and an unblocked right turn onto the main track, which would take it to the next room.

"See that first ramp?" pointed Boroy. "You can raise and lower that, don't worry. I'm standing above the proper contact circuit. Just hit it and we're homefree of the conveyers!"

So Link gladly Thunderforged it once Boroy got out of the way.

At this time, Samba came in. He rode along with the chest in front and saw the ramp was up. He smiled and kept riding along, actually sitting and leaning back against the chest while he whipped out his guitar and strummed a bit. He waved when he passed the balcony. "Well, hello, again!" he greeted.

"Boroy, get the belt ready!" called a deep goron voice below. Samba turned his head and saw an elevator rising.

"Right," Boroy called back. He kept his hand over the button, then pressed it as the chest went a few feet down the last straight stretch of belt on that floor. The belts stopped.

Samba realized they both didn't need Sync Mode any longer and he should move. So, they ended it and he hopped down, soon rejoining Link (after Link hammered the Pegbot again). Together, they watched the goron on the now-raised elevator work on the chest. He opened it and took his blowtorch to the corners inside, then held up the key's parts, welding them together. Finally, he lifted his face shield and gave a thumbs up to Boroy. Boroy thumbs upped back and hit the button. "It'll be fine, don't worry," he assured them. "The fall it's gonna take isn't bad, and the belts are grippy enough. Just go and join it as it goes into the final room, Brothers! You're on your own in there!"

"Thanks! We'll see you before we get to the final room!" Link said, turning and starting down the ramp (he was leader now). Samba waved and followed.

At long last, after seven minutes total of belt-riding, they hopped on either side of the chest as it got into the last room.

- - -

AUTHOR'S NOTES -- OPTIONAL READING

_**Wanna see Link's conductor contact circuit puzzle in the middle of 1F Pouring? **_ferretrip**(dot)**deviantart**(dot)**com**(slash)**art**(slash)**Clamor-Plant-Link-s-Puzzle-132384368

_**Samba's avert circuit puzzle of doom & the track for the buckets in 2F Pouring: **_ferretrip**(dot)**deviantart**(dot)**com**(slash)**art**(slash)**Avert-Circuit-Puzzle-Buckets-132386828

AL! MOST! DONE! ONE! MORE! CHAPTER! I swear! Don't worry, though, it won't go farther. I REFUSE to exceed my terrible record of six chapters in a part that I set with Puzzle of Truth...I'm regretting doing entire dungeons now, aren't you? n_n;

I'll leave it to you to figure out the solution to Samba's puzzle ;) I hope I made it clear enough...ff(dot)net is rather finicky.

I SO wanted this effing sequence to be in one twenty-page part, but this is page 22 already. At least we got through the boring conveyers. I don't like the way I'm writing Boroy here...Ugh. Oh, well. Not gonna bother changing it, now. XP

Anywho, we're almost to the boss! Don't bash me for the puzzles, by the way--I worked very hard on them, though I only today figured the solutions (like Samba's chest-catching; he coulda just pulled it with at first, anyway, though, but I wanted him to play a bit). Samba's coil puzzle was a BEEYOTCH to do, by the way. A BEEYOTCH. Thank God I have a Physics prof for a dad, though 8D

Ummm...Okay, this one's sad. Liberties taken:

- Sync Mode, which was really made for single-player, forces the non-played character to stay put. I'm pretending there're two people playing, though. Yes, I'm taking liberties on my own rules. XP

This last new room coming is (practically) IT for the evilest puzzle in Zelda history! Yes, this whole process is a puzzle. It was a BAD idea to have so much dungeon beforehand, but it's a foundry and needed to have those rooms. And we needed to do something in those rooms. Besides, isn't it kinda cool? They're making something at a factory on their own! But, then, that's one of those things that sounds GREAT on paper...I know this is long and boring, I promise no other dungeon will be so uninteresting and torturous. Well...unless I carry out my plan to...nevermind.

Again, ONE MORE, folks! Then that's it until I write again sometime during college (I -WILL- find time!)! Anyway, on to the next one!


	16. Clamor Plant: Allegro al Finale

Link and Samba came down the conveyer belt and landed on a short-walled cart with no Auto Cart, for once, on a track going straight east. They gazed about the smallish, quiet, rectangular room.

The walls weren't covered in metal, but were plain stone. The lights and bounty of steel made the room look cooler in color than many other rooms in the dungeon. Cart tracks covered the majority of the floor. The room was wide enough to have four tracks side by side with space between to be safe if between two moving carts. In the center of the room was a roundabout (or whatever they're called) with a track on it, currently lined up with their own track. They could go across it and then go to the other side, where an elevator with a track on it and a floor covered with ball bearings stuck inside every couple inches would meet them. This was the second of the Ready for Shipping rooms, and it appeared to be the main one; two giant double doors took up half the real estate on the south wall, but they were bent and dented and blocked, and appeared to be inaccessable for a good long time. A track going south from the roundabout went to it. A track went northwest from it, then turned west before going all the way to the wall and doubling back to another elevator near the middle of the north wall, near the double doors that they knew led to Sarbog. They remembered it was barred on his side--the fact it was barred on this side, too, made things a little interesting. A mine cart symbol was painted on the heavy brass.

Two tracks from the center were broken...and both were ones that would have directly led to the door! The most direct, north, broke JUST as it would have met the track going up to the double doors. The second route went southeast. It broke midway to the turn east that went along the south wall/door. This followed the wall until it turned north to the door. Right when it began was the third elevator. Midway along this track sat an empty cart. Above them was a chain link fence that was almost unbroken as it surrounded a somewhat wide catwalk, it appeared, that went around much of the walls of the room. One spot above them was missing a fence. On the ceiling above it was a red plate with an N on it.

On the wall behind the northernmost elevator, they could see an eye switch with a brown iris. To the south from the first track was a stretch of uncovered flooring, where a crystal switch sat, unlit. A beamos stood in the place where a southwestern track might have started from the middle.

And, finally, they saw a couple Armos Cirkitts ambling around the crystal switch. Link was on them immediately. He gave two hits with the Thunderforge before spin attacking with it, busting them both apart within seconds. When he spin attacked, he struck the crystal switch, which didn't break to their surprise.

The roundabout rotated fourty-five degrees clockwise, then stopped. The crystal switch went out again.

Link and Samba looked at each other after observing this. "Well, we've got one last little puzzle on our hands," Link said.

"At least there aren't any more enemies," Samba shrugged, holding his paws up.

They looked up at the second level they figured they would need to go to. The "catwalk", which appeared to be almost thick as the four-inch-high (two-inch-high ties and rails) tracks--three inches, about, which was strange for the catwalks they'd seen so far--had holes for the elevators. It went around the perimeter of the room except for two places: One was a spot west of the northeastern corner, and the other was a hole above the spot the southeastern track turned. A ladder on the wall led up to a relatively thin (it was as wide as the tracks, but was really, really short) piece of normal catwalk that hung alone, apparantly there to help push the cart from the track on the elevator if it came up. Stretching across that gap like a bridge if lateral south was the ground (in other words, if the map was like a side-scroller) was another part, which the other elevator came up to. It was broken right behind the elevator on the eastern side.

Link went over to the ball bearings area and inspected it. "I think that this is here for rolling the carts along and having space for them to sit and be movable storage," he theorized. "We could probably roll the cart along this, even sideways."

"What if there's a bald patch? Could the cart roll, you think?" Samba asked, pushing the cart until it almost got to the roundabout.

Link shook his head, turning. "Not if the balls are missing instead of being pure flat metal," he answered. He pointed. "There's some sloped ring around them that I suspect keeps them in place while letting them roll. If the balls only are taken out, then they'd stick up and stop the cart's bottom, or at least obstruct the wheels."

"Ah." Samba looked over at the crystal switch. "Well, hit that so we can get up on that elevator over across from us," he said.

Link went and struck the crystal switch until Samba could get across. He got to the elevator and found another lever on the southern side. He pulled it up. As he rose, he thought he saw something different about the elevator ahead. It got too far, though, and he got up on top. He then saw his question in action to his right (on the west side).

First, though, he noticed all of the floor up there was roller floor. They could walk about between the rollers safely...well, Link could, for sure, but he'd probably have a slight amount of trouble since his footpaws were, like for some ledges, too darn big. He probably could manage if he placed them right, though. The platforms were wide enough that two carts could sit side by side between the fence and wall. There were low walls that would stop the carts from falling out if there were no fence, like in the spot they'd seen before. Then, he saw some high walls were set up across the paths, and in each one was a very heavy-looking door that went into the ceiling. Two handles existed on both sides. "I bet a goron could lift that up from one side, but...we'd have to have one on each side..." he murmured, looking about, but he saw that there was a little problem.

A shutter was on each side of the part where the chain link fence was missing. Then, one was between the part he was on and the part west of the southern break. Another shutter made a corner with that one. And all of them, it appeared, were inaccessable from both sides at once.

"Greeeaaat..." Samba muttered. He looked around. No other eye switch existed in the room. A floor switch was on the end of the platform he was on, an island in a sea of ball bearings that began after the bald patch. He stood on it.

Nothing happened. The switch didn't depress as much as it should have. It also had four smaller mini-floor switches around it, and a picture of a mine cart was on the main one. 'The cart has to be on it...' He then realized what they needed to do and groaned.

"What's with the growling up there?" Link asked from below.

"We've got to start from that northern elevator, then go around, and..." Samba began before growling and shaking his head. "Just get up here!"

After Link used the rings to come up, he looked around and analyzed the situation they were in. "I see..."

"We have to start over there, at the northern elevator," pointed Samba, and he continued, turning as he indicated the path, "then go around, putting the cart on the switch and hoping it isn't constant-pressure before finding a way to get it that southern elevator, which I think is broken because I didn't notice a lever on it when I was going up." He ended almost turning a full circle, pointing at the switch.

"Then, we've probably got to find that second eye switch and, since they look different, do a Synchronized shot and presumably open that door," Link went on. He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. "But the main problem lies in those huge shutters..."

"Well, we can at least open that first one we'll meet if you get on the north elevator and I pull myself using that plate on the ceiling," Samba shrugged.

So, getting down on the elevator (Link operated it this time, and Samba stood on the other side), they pushed the cart onto the ball bearing floor on 1F and split up to do their jobs. Samba stood and waited after making sure he had a good angle to fly up while Link went up the other elevator.

When Link, careful not to slip on the ball bearings, trotted off on 2F again, he noticed something in the corner of the room there, on the north wall. It was a small hole with bars of stone. The swordsman remembered seeing something like it when they first entered the smithing room. He came over and looked through. 'Yup,' he confirmed when he saw the room. Sarbog was strolling around, making sure everyone was doing their work. He was coming towards Link, so he noticed something sticking from the window. He looked up sharply, ready for an enemy, but when he saw Link, he smirked and nodded. Link smiled and nodded back, then watched as Sarbog continued along.

'I suppose one of us could throw the other's ring through this and then that one could see if there's another eye switch or something,' he mused before turning around and continuing. He got to the shutter and gripped the handles. "Let's see how heavy this is," he said to himself, bracing his legs apart with hands down and ready to pull up. He crouched and then stood, pulling. He almost got red in the face before he knew he was too weak alone to do it. "Yeah, we need to try this together," he said to Samba. "If all else fails, we can recruit Boroy."

Samba nodded and looked at the N plate. He held out the appropriate paw and used Volt Claw. He gasped shortly at the suddenness of being yanked forth, but he was expecting it this time. (The fact there wasn't deadly lava below helped a lot.) He didn't need to do his conservation trick, so he kept going until he was there before letting go. He squeaked, realizing that he was going to--

"RaauAAUhhAAAAUUGH!!" WHAM!! "--NGH!"

--slip and fall on the rollers once he landed. He thankfully managed to catch himself before his head hit the metal painfully. Link saw this from around the shutter and put a hand over his mouth to stop the laugh. "Careful, Samba," he squeaked. "You okay?"

"Could be better," Samba grunted, carefully getting up. 'Okay, maybe they're a LITTLE bit of a hindrance...' He faced the shutter and cracked his knuckles. "Alright, let's do this," he said, and he crouched to grab the handles and get in position.

They could have used Sync Mode and Synchronized themselves, but they just counted off. They had to keep at it, lifting it, but they managed to get it up and, with one last effort, push it into the ceiling, a loud click sounding with the slam it made when it got up almost all the way. The handles kept it from going all the way up, and they noticed the bottoms were lipped--the gorons probably pulled them down by jumping up and letting their great weight bring them down again. They stood back in case it decided to come crashing down, then decided that click they heard meant it was locked in place. They breathed a sigh of relief and looked around.

"What next?" Link asked.

"We see if we can break through the fence, that's what," replied Samba.

Link furrowed his brow before turning to a fence and bringing out his Thunderforge. "I hope they don't hate me for this," he muttered before striking it.

To their amazement, IT HELD.

The shiny metal wires were strung up taught, making a wall. Not even a dent. "But something tells me that some older metal might give," Link commented to Samba. "I can't see how something like that could hold up to this thing without being very strong metal and recently made. Rustier...we have to look for rustier stuff...THAT should break like I expected, with a couple strikes."

They looked around and couldn't see any from there. "Maybe that ladder will show us," Samba suggested. Link brought the elevator down while Samba went up the actual ladder, for once. (It was attatched to the wall above the door at the top, curving up to it like pool ladders, except it attatched halfway through the curve.)

Link joined him and shared his look of relief. Standing on the little catwalk bit and facing west, they found an old fence with rusty wires. Link prepared for some pain before backing up, bringing out the Thunderforge, and jumping off. He jump attacked midway through and SMASHED the fence apart spectacularly. He had to keep going, though, and landed on the tracks with an unpleasant roll over the hard, jutting objects. His shield on his back helped reduce the pain a little. (What amazed Samba was how he could roll so well with that hammer.)

"Well, that's great," called Samba, "but looks like all that lets us do is the shutter at the end that lets us use the mine cart switch."

"Wait," Link called up. He had been looking up at Samba when he spoke, standing on the track they'd started on since he'd gotten up and stumbled over from the akward roll. He noticed, out of the corner of his eye, something about the fence around the part they still had no way of accessing. He slowly turned and squinted at it. He could swear he saw hinges on the bottom and locks on the sides of a part about four feet across in the middle of that fence. These locks looked old and very rusty. There was nothing but a bar of metal the wires went into on top; the other fences went into the ceiling. "I think I see a door of some sort..." He needed to get rid of those locks, though.

He took aim and fired with his arrow at the first lock. It pinged and jostled, much rust flying off. He frowned, but, since it was their only chance, fired again. This time, he could barely see some cracks on it, making him smile. So, he fired again and it broke entirely. Three shots on the other one and, with a wailing groan, the fence fell forwards to the outside. It banged noisily on the low wall of the ball bearing flooring, bouncing a couple times, but it held. It was long enough that Link could jump up to it and climb it. "Hop over, we'll get this finished, now," Link called, smiling to himself and putting away his bow.

He jumped up and climbed the fence, then, with Samba, lifted the shutter that would now let the cart fall off the track if they weren't careful. "Ready to get this done with?" Link asked, smiling.

"Well, until we find a way to open the door we need," Samba chuckled.

Samba stayed on the bearings floor he was on while Link went around to the elevators and got to the places he needed to go. They lifted the last-in-line shutter, then the final shutter (the other one by the N plate). After that, they pushed the cart back onto the roundabout, hit the crystal switch once, and pushed it onto the northwestern track. From there, they pushed it around until they got to the cart switch. When they pushed it on, the switch depressed entirely.

THUMP. Click-click-click-click!

The southern elevator rose up. It stopped at the top floor for about ten seconds before lowering again, where it stopped for ten before repeating.

They saw this and smiled. "Alright, that's good, I guess," Link said. "Now, let's get this thing off."

Samba nodded and tried to pull the cart. It didn't budge. "Oh, no!" he gasped, tugging the sides. "Those four clicks must have been the switch locking the wheels!"

"Then we'll have to take it out and roll it along these balls," Link said unfazedly.

Samba raised an eyeridge, then frowned. "Oh. I feel stupid."

"We're just tense," Link shook his head.

"Alright, then, let's go," Samba grunted, lifting the chest and gently setting it on the rollers. "We can't push this across the tracks, though..."

"Wait, that other cart!" Link snapped his fingers, eyebrows up. "I'll get it, go on the elevator, and then we can pull the chest over magnetically and put it on."

"...I just thought of something," Samba said before Link turned.

Link stopped. "What?"

"Can't we just carry it to the door directly? I mean...it's not that hard, right?" he asked.

"...Ummmm..." Link frowned, looking out through the fence at the doors. He then noticed a symbol on it. "Nope, I see a mine cart design on it, and I bet that means we have to cart it through. Besides, this is more fun, isn't it?" he asked, smiling brightly over his shoulder at Samba.

Samba sighed, shaking his head. "We've come this far, if that's what you mean," he said.

Link chuckled and went off. He got down on the first floor, grabbed the empty cart, and pushed it (hunkering down low because of how low the sides were) to the elevator, waiting for it to go up and down again to make sure it doesn't go up when it's not all the way on, which would be hazardous. (Besides, he didn't want to miss his ride.) Once on the top, he pulled it out again and beckoned Samba over.

Samba pushed the chest carefully into place before carefully jumping over and turning to the chest. He held his two paws out and pulled it over with Volt Claw. When it came close enough, he stopped and caught it. He walked over when the elevator was up because he didn't want to set it down on anything but the rollers, since it was, really, kind of heavy and he had to walk, anyway. He was thankful the elevator stayed up so long. When he finally was on the rollers, he set it down and mopped his brow. "Okay, that's why we can't bring it over the old-fashioned way," he breathed. "It'll take forever and kill our arms when we're gonna need them the most."

After a long while more, they finally got it, in its new cart, to the door. Link then looked up at the window he'd seen before. "Samba, let's go up there, quick," he said, pointing in its direction.

Samba, knowing they still had to get the doors open, nodded and went up the middle elevator. They made it across the floor and got to the window, which Samba realized was what Link was pointing to. "I remember this!" he murmured. "Hey...I think I know what to do."

Link made him leader and hid in his ring, then came out as a ball of light. "Then do it."

Samba got over to the window and looked below, making sure he had clearance. Then, he tossed Link through it. He watched him reappear in the air on the other side a few feet down and land, somewhat hard, on the floor below. "Look around," he instructed.

Link nodded and looked right and left. This made him stop and turn, smiling. "Found it!" On the east side of the south wall, in line with a forge, was another brown-irised eye switch. "Okay, Sync time." They initiated Sync Mode and, because they might get confused from the two different environments moving about (the room Link inhabited was warm in color scheme and Samba was in a cool color scheme), they did it like they thought might be safer and had only the leader move. Link was the leader, and he moved to the eye switch, brought his bow out, and readied an arrow before switching and holding still.

Samba was about to come down the elevator when he remembered he could only get to it when it was up, so he went out the low wall and grunted in pain from the hard tracks below. Then he turned and readied a pebble at the same distance Link was at and said, "Ready!"

"Then let's do this," Link said.

They Synchronized to make double sure before firing together. The switches closed at the same time. Then, both looked right and saw the bar lift from the doors. "Great!" they both said, forgetting how in sync they were again. They ended Synchronization and Sync Mode, then Link stood to wait while Samba pushed the cart through the doors. They opened and he was allowed into the forge-filled room. Once the cart bumped against the brace, the doors shut again.

Link and Samba both jumped for joy, whooping at the fact they finally got the boss key safely back to the smithy.

"Do not celebrate just yet," Sarbog admonished, coming over and taking out the chest. He knew his strength well--he probably could crush it lengthwise if he wanted, but he simply lifted it out and brought it over to his forge. He opened it and, after a moment, smiled satisfiedly. "NOW you may celebrate," he said, turning his head to the two.

They had already celebrated, so all Link and Samba did was give each other a double high-five.

"Now, then, you should find a place to rest, since this will take about half an hour," Sarbog instructed, pointing out the door. "Return here after that time and it shall be ready."

"Yessir," Samba nodded. He left the room, Link following, and they both stood outside in the stairwell. "Now, then, where's the quietest place in the factory?" he asked, paw to chin.

"Hmmm...I think we should go in a place that's quiet, but still noisy, so we don't experience the same aural torture we did coming into Pouring the first time," Link answered, holding a hand up.

So, they decided to go into the door on their left, the second conveyer room. The belt was shut off, but the sound of machinery was still apparant from behind the other walls. The gorons were now all outside the belt, though Boroy remained on the balcony. All but a couple were curled up, though they came up when approached.

"Thank you for helping us, Brothers! I thought I would be standing for the rest of my life! Oh, my aching legs...But what aches the most is my soul...Clanging and clanking all around for ages, but nothing but noise...I cannot even hear that clamorous symphony I hear some describe since I am not close enough to Pouring..."

"I knew you two could do it. Thank you very much for going through this place for us. You must be as tired as we are. Take a rest here if you have time!"

"You know, I love my job, but not THIS much. I cannot wait until I get home to my family! That is...if you can defeat that monster. We refuse to leave until this factory is back under our control! I wish you luck, Brothers!"

"With all of the machines taking control, most of the factory's products have been built purely by machine, leaving us to do nothing but stand here all day. I was very glad to work on that chest, though I was afraid I could not do it right, since I feel so weak. Thank you for making my day and for helping us all out, Brothers! I know you can destroy that beast!"

Then came the goron who had spoken to them when they first entered the room. He was pacing along the eastern wall. "Oh, hello, Brothers!" he greeted, stopping and turning to them. "I had faith in you two. Again, I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to help you. But now, thanks to you, we can walk about again with lighter hearts! Oh, if feels so good to stretch my legs!"

"I'm surprised my legs aren't giving out," Samba grumbled. "I've been running around all day." 'All week, more like.'

"Oh, I bet you have," the goron nodded, crossing his arms. "But there is more to this adventure you're in. You've come this far...do you believe you can beat the beast?"

Link and Samba looked at each other, one of the reasons for coming returning to them. They nodded resolutely and looked back. "We have to," Link replied. "To help you, and possibly ourselves."

"Thank you," the goron nodded again. "But while Sarbog works on the key, wait here awhile. There's about 25 minutes left in the half-hour he gave you. Do you have anything you can while away the time with, like a book?" He left them with that question unanswered.

They found that the conveyer belt was actually more comfortable than the hard floor. So, the two swordsmen sat for a few minutes. Samba got out his beastiary and updated it while Link spent the time looking at their key items. When he got out the Skulltula Tokens, he found something interesting. In the back of each large medal-sized gold token was a normal-sized medal. The one they got from the mountain was a strange, naturally green beautiful metal and bore the picture of a stone that had lines around it suggesting it glowed. Link was reminded of Fire Pebble and titled it thus to himself. The one he got from the room in there had a medal made of copper with a picture of a simple mallet on it. Link titled it the Hammer medal.

Then, true boredom set in and they both ended up taking out their instruments and idly playing a bit. Samba just played a few notes before remembering what he did when playing in the compass room. He listened hard, closing his eyes, before beginning to strum chordings quietly, doing straight eighth note rhythms.

Link looked over at him doing this, and he raised an eyebrow before shrugging. 'Must be playing something from within,' he thought. He set the ocarina to his lips again before he heard an accented chord that struck him as familiar. He listened to him for a moment before realizing, himself, the song one only heard when they listened. He closed his eyes, listened to the chording and the noise from the wall behind them (they were in the western part of the room, and the wall they went against was shared with Pouring). He began to softly play the melody.

As they played together, they began to feel the song more. They began to hear the instruments, no longer muffled from the walls. The different sounds. The different notes. The different rhythms. The different ranges.

The longer they played, the more intense the music became, until finally, after a series of random, akward notes that went on just a little longer than one might expect, the music began again, a simple repeating eighth note, like the clanking of gears. While somewhat slow, it was still fairly intense, giving the feel of the factory quite well. The notes swelled and they played louder, imagining their instruments had become the ones they heard behind and around them.

The gorons listened as they described the intensity of the foundry's inner workings. The music picked up gradually, growing more and more intense as it went. Then, it became treacherous, banging accents coming at nearly random times before it came to a climax, powerful chording and melody work before it seamlessly went into another series of random notes, getting louder, louder, louder, sounding cacaphonous, they couldn't bear i--

Back to the single note, quiet as a mouse.

Link and Samba ended the song, shifting to a i chord (minor first) and letting it ring. They opened their eyes and blushed when the gorons applauded.

-

Link and Samba returned to Sarbog after the goron who they spoke with last told them it was ready. Sarbog stood at his forge, back to them. "It is time," he announced. "The time to confront that vile creature that has taken hold of our fair foundry. He boomed, " He turned to face them, face serious and arms crossed. "Link! Samba! The Knights of Dualty! Take this key that all in the Clamor Plant have prepared and defeat the evil beast with your combined strength!!" He stood aside to reveal the chest.

It was magnificent. Burnished gold, silver, and bronze patches shone between proud red metal stripes in a grid on the sides, corners on the front that allowed a black goron emblem in a violet diamond. The top was made with sides of the patches and stripes and the violet on top. Handles of brass hung at the sides, and a simple steel pair of latches hung.

Inside was a key that matched. The places where the welding had occured were covered in the red metal stripes. The barrel was brass and the bit steel, while gold, silver, and bronze formed concentric rings around the handle, which was shaped in a circle with the black goron emblem inside a field of violet.

Link and Samba took it with jaws agape, astounded at the beauty of it all.

"Was it worth all the work, Brothers?" chuckled Sarbog, showing some humor.

Link and Samba merely nodded, and Sarbog let out a brief laugh. "Can we keep it after we're done?" Samba asked.

Sarbog shook his head solemnly. "I am unsure if it will stay fast in the lock or not," he replied sadly. "If it does not, go ahead. You worked for it. Now, go. It is impolite to keep anyone waiting for too long."

Short and sweet, that was it. They looked at their map and found the room with the large skull was connected to Melting on the second floor. So, they got there. After going across the first bridge, they went up the steps right there. This led them nowhere, though. They saw places where the metal came out and were able to find a pit that they assumed metal went INto. They went down and across the second, then third bridges, fighting anything in their way with sword, talon, and hammer. Finally, they went up a shallower set of steps that went up, back, and to the central melting machine on top.

There, they found another place for metal. On the right, they found some pots sitting there. They stepped around the top part of the machine and saw two beamos behind the corners. Beyond, they found a place for the metal made in the furnace to pour into the machine, but it was filled literally solid. The metal solidified on the feeding trough partway into the room. But the main thing came from the northern wall.

A giant door stood with an X of gold, silver, and bronze chains, each link a different metal. The main padlock was in the center over the intersection of the chains. Round, it was red-rimmed and violet inside, with a black goron emblem inside. The big keyhole was inside this emblem. Link and Samba looked at each other and nodded. They went and broke the pots, collected their contents (which included a fairy) and refilled their ammo, both physical and magical. Then, they stood side by side, Samba on the left and Link on the right, and raised the key. They jumped, put it in, and turned before landing. The lock THUNKED open before falling, the chains retracting and the door shimmering from the spell being broken. When the lock crashed down to the ground, they examined the key. To their pleasent surprise, it came out. As a memento of their hard work, they kept it.

But they sobered up, nodded, and proceeded through the lifting door. It shut behind them tight, and there was no turning back.

-

After a corridor, they stepped into a circular room of immense size. The color scheme was goldish, brassish yellow. Behind patches of grating in the wall, pistons pumped, gears ground, and belts bound. They currently stood high up on a square platform with semi-steep stairs leading down from either side. These went down to a platform of equal width to the one they were on each way. The platform didn't last very long and soon had a gap. The gaps were a bit longer than the platforms. When it ended, another platform began. Not counting the one they stood on now, there were six of these platforms around. Also, the platforms were sort of connected, since a thick, covered cable or large pipe (it was hard to tell) went around the gaps, tops level with the platforms. The part they could potentially walk on safely without slipping was only a few inches wide--Link was the only one who could sidle along them. Looking below the gaps, they saw that another platform was there at a distance that wasn't painful if either fell. As well, there were ladders going back up to either side. The walls went straight up above them into black nothingness. A giant steel fan rotated from above, attatched by three spokes, but they felt no breeze; it was removing air upwards. They noticed, as well, many covered vents on the wall in places. Indeed, their map labeled the room Ventilation. They wondered why Boroy had said nobody entered this room, even before the foundry was upgraded, if they obviously worked on it so much.

Looking down, they found that the room was actually flask-shaped, wider at the bottom than the top. The walls began to push outwards at the point the first platforms described were--the lower ones, edges matching the ones above, were wider to compensate. One could go down or up from these lower platforms via thick, covered cables or large pipes (it was hard to tell) that went straight down then in. (There seemed to be some elevators below the nearest platforms, but they were apparently out of service, if sparking, smoking controls meant anything.) On the floor, they saw when leaning over the railing of the first platform, was a giant, densely-wound brass grating, below which was an even larger steel fan. This one was not moving very much at all. (One might wonder how the workers felt and how the machines fared without any sort of air conditioning if all that was done was the removal of heat.) Around it was a wide expanse of plain, smooth metal that served as a perimeter to walk on if the grating was hazardous; the pipes from above came down to here. Across the grating underneath it went steel support beams that formed a triangle. Going out at an angle one way from the center of each was another beam, each going the same way radially. Along the wall were three steel, round, top-hinged hatches, each one at the point of the triangle. Some places along the beams (which might also have had wires or cables inside), a circle of metal went on the grating, interrupting it. Some beams had fallen in places to form sort of cages or lean-tos. Strewn about the floor were massive chunks of iron machine parts. They appeared to be part of a container for gas or something, given their rounded shapes.

Among the moving machinery and yellow-toned metal on the wall and the noise about them, Link and Samba could neither see nor hear the Gold Skulltula a ways above one of the ledge-cables/-pipes.

They both looked around, finding the room empty otherwise. They looked at each other with puzzled faces, shrugging. They turned to report to Sarbog the room was empty.

A deep creak of metal coming from the bottom of the room stopped them in mid-step. It was long and loud, rising up in pitch as they slowly turned their heads back. A deep clang accompanied a shaking of the room. The groan came again. This time, they heard it distinctly...it was a growl of sorts. Clunks and clanks were heard as they saw the grey metal parts suddenly join together and begin to assemble into something.

Then, in a grinding voice like the groans of stressing steel girders and rumbles of resonating iron walls, a voice spoke to them. "You are the human and lizard who have brashly marched through this beautiful foundry...You have crumpled the many workers under my control, even after I went and upgraded them...displeasing."

They saw the pieces combine slowly around a central cylinder, forming feet and bent legs attatching to the bottom. "You have wrested control of the power and machines from my grasp...annoying."

Hands and arms built up to the upper part of the cylinder. "You have ALL struck out at me for taking control of this place and using it as it should--to make whatever one wishes, whenever one wishes...maddening."

A round head came up to the top. "And now you desire to destroy this body I have had made for me, a body I had made with hard work by machines, a body most mighty and magnificent compared to that weak, pitiful form I had before..."

It slowly stood up, towering to the top floor, eyes level. It opened its mouth, though it did not move it with its words (similar to Krungratrg), and roared its descriptor of their actions, "INFURIATING!!" Link and Samba gazed at it, nearly deafened by the roar, but admittedly impressed by its body.

It was grey and cold iron, mostly. While basic--cylinders and spherical shapes--its parts were thick and strong and HUGE. The head looked like that of a mountain lion's, bearing two eyes of red cameras the size of large round shields. Its muzzle had the details of the nose and wire whiskers, fangs and tongue. In its throat were two things: One was a black mesh on the back of the throat and, below it, a hole of some sort. Two ears of layered sheet metal sat on top. Its torso was covered with lights and etched decorative lines. Most of it, presumably its "belly", was on a part that appeared to be cut in instead of merely etched in a rounded rectangle that wrapped halfway around about 3/5 of the torso (from the bottom).

Balls of shiny steel formed its shoulders and hips, where the arms and legs came out. The first parts of the limbs were rather basic, and they each had cups for elbows or kneecaps. These cups were split with lines in strange, somewhat comblike designs, being V's with four lines raining down. The second parts were different, but all had balls visible in the crooks and knees. The forearms were plain cylinders mostly, but they saw some red lights poking out near the backside of the elbow (well, if you hold your arm out in a punch, it's the bony bottom side of that part of your arm). They ended in hands, made of squares for the palm and skeletal-looking clawlike things for the fingers, that began on the top as the wrist, leaving the bottom to look like a loose cuff. As for the legs, they couldn't see behind it, only the balls of the joint itself peeking around the large kneecaps. Around each shin and calf spiraled up a line of small, ball-ended bright copper rods that came out at sharp angles. They ended behind it, somewhere, but began at the start of the basic-looking shoe-like foot. It was all basic, but the etchings and lights on each inch of its body made it astounding.

The mechanical monster raised both fists, about to smash them. "You shall not interfere with me!" it asserted as it wound up, mouth closed with bared teeth (as they were all the time).

Link and Samba yelped and ran to different sides. It followed them before coming down to hammer them. Link rolled, and Samba dove, using his powerful legs. Both fists smashed the stairways to bits. Link stopped and stood on a platform, but Samba had dived to the side, going a little too far. He yelped and sailed down to the floor until he thankfully managed to catch one of the hanging pipes with his tail. He swung down around it a couple times before he grabbed it with his arms and came sliding down.

The two looked up at the behemoth in front of them. "Now, you weak, poverted hicks," it spat, "DIE!! Die by the claw of the marvelous Anjoltvrya, the final product number: XT23-2E!!" And it began.

('About time,' thought the swordsmen.)

After it roared, its eyes turned from red to green as it focused on Link. Samba took this time to hide below. Neither knew what to do, so they only hoped to play it by ear. So, the first thing they assumed was that if it was green-eyed, it would be looking at Link. Link didn't know what to do, so he just ran. Anjoltvrya (an-JOLT-vree-ya) opened its mouth and the back of its throat glowed a moment before it fired a stream of what appeared to be molten steel. How it did, they didn't know, but Link didn't care. He kept running and dove down to the platform below, hoping it would run out. It stopped, at least, and turned its focus down to Samba, eyes turning blue, while Link climbed up a ladder.

Samba was a sitting duck for the molten steel if he was just in the beams, so he decided to just come out when the mouth glowed again. When he did, it closed the maw and lifted a leg back, intending to give a mighty soccer kick to the lizalfos. Samba could see this coming a mile away, and he saw that the legs' ornamentation looked almost invitingly like a hopping stairway up. So, he took a chance and waited to dash. As soon as the leg (left) began to come falling down at him like a pendulum, he dashed to its right foot. He jumped up onto it just as it swooshed through the spot he was in. Then, to their humor, its foot got stuck as a dent was made in the wall. It had to take the time to tug it out.

Samba took this advantage. He noticed, as he went, the Master Sword appear on his belt. 'He must know I'm probably the one to do things, now...smart kid.' He saw that the rods were indeed good for hopping, so he began. He hopped up the spiraling leg, covering about twenty-five before he found the back of the knee. Here, like a tendon, was a thick set of cords and cables, exposed for all the world to slice. The ball joint was, like on the Silicon Knight, hollow. To help, he found that a larger ball stuck out before it, so he could hop back and forth on one footpaw to the other while slashing, and he attacked with the Master Sword in rhythm to them. Slice-hop-slice-hop...He launched a full four-attack combo before the cords broke and the beast roared in agony. Samba jumped down bravely and rolled, amazingly safe on landing. 'Cut the limbs off! Great plan!' he mused, running back to the saftey of the "cages".

Link was up on top again and was targeted again. He wondered if he could dodge better if he waited first, so he stood, shield up in an effort to defend himself. Instead of firing the stream, Anjoltvrya reeled back a fist, eyes glowing. Link recalled the hammer blow and knew he could only dodge at the last second--he couldn't run and not have it follow him. So, he waited until the fist came and ran and rolled. He BARELY made it. He noticed it was stopped from denting the wall by the astoundingly strong platform coming up against the "cuff". (The vibration and bell-like BONNNGG took his footing for a moment, though.) The fist ended an inch before the wall, though, so it made no difference. It quickly drew it back and readied another punch.

Link then recalled the lights he'd seen before. He looked at the ledge-like cable/pipe and nodded. He dashed to it and began to sidle across it. He wasn't able to quite clear the platforms, though, and he had to drop early. He did, however, manage to quickly get a glimpse of what he was aiming for. Head just below the thing's arm, he could see three red, giant, lit balls that served to help connect the iron cords acting as tendons for the thing's arms; they connected other cords to the centers of them. 'If I shoot them, maybe it'll be harmed, like below,' he thought.

Since he'd gone below again, the creature shifted its attention back to Samba. They noticed that whenever one was out of range for a good melee attack it was comfortable with, it switched--when Link dropped down and when Samba hid behind the beams. It only did this AFTER it attacked at least once, though.

So, Samba came out and waved his rump at it. "C'mon, perfect lizard booty right here!" he taunted. It tried to kick him again, using the same foot. 'Wrong one,' he thought, holding still (he predicted dashing all the time will make it anticipate, and this was a valid idea just in case of that). He dashed aside when it began and waited, dropping to his entire left footpaw to tap it. When it came out of the wall, it tried the other leg. This time, Samba dashed to the left, standing leg and went up it, going around it the other way. He was able to slash it four times, too. Another roar signalled successful slitting, and he dove to roll to a safe spot.

Link's turn. He recieved the Master Sword, which Samba forgot to send last time, and took advantage of the fact that, he noticed, it had to take a moment to adjust its camera eyes. He trotted to the beginning of a sidling spot. When it began winding up, he sidled at top speed. He was around the center when it launched. He let himself drop down, avoiding the punch entirely. Not only did it make a dent, it hit the sidling spot and grunted, frozen as electricity swam across its arm, brightening the spots Link had seen. They sat around the arm in a curve. He took his chance and fired at them with his bow, able to hit the well-lit, reasonably-sized balls easily. They shattered like crystal, and each time one did, the cord it was connected to dropped from the crook, the tendon it kept together falling, as well. He got all three and made it roar like Samba did.

After it shifted back to Samba, Link started up again and Samba came out from his hiding place. In the time it took him to bait a hit, dodge, and get back to safety, Link was able to get to the start of another ledge-cable. He successfully baited another punch and shot the other arm's red orbs.

The roar was enormous. Anjoltvrya stumbled back a bit, about to fall back, when it stumbled forwards a step. It tried to shift back again, but it went too far and stumbled back more to fall against the wall. The shock tore off the forearms and lower legs, making the former fall and the latter have the beast slide down to the floor (thankfully not above Samba). Then, it fell forwards, moving its stubby stumps to catch it. The shock forced the cut middle section to fall off and to the floor with a great multitude of snaps from cables. The inside part revealed its purpose to be a container of the molten steel from a dripping nozzle at the chest and something else, connecting itself to the belly and the chest by steel cables that broke off. Another similar cable stretched from the same place and went to the same place, too. The main body was different, too--more spartan but still curvy. The cable mentioned hung, and there was a definite thinning of the middle, curving in from a large chest like an animal's stomach and flaring out at the hips smoothly. In fact, it appeared more like a female shape. A small (to them right now) plate covered its navel, a little below the cable. Also, a few lights were visible in a line on the side of her body.

Something else happened when its parts fell. They, themselves, fell apart as they hit the ground, the middle section falling apart more slowly as the steel poured out. Samba screeched and raced to jump on top of a pile of beams since he wasn't near a pipe to climb up. The limbs fell apart, breaking in half and the other moving parts flying off, and were taken by the flood of steel, melting with it. The upper limbs appeared to be impervious to the flow. Anjoltvrya panted as this happened.

Finally, the metal drained away down the grating. Amazingly, nothing around the room was harmed--only the parts of the enemy. Link came down a pipe and joined Samba as they looked at the beast.

"So..." came a MUCH different voice--a deep, feminine, more-natural voice that was affected by the amplifier it came from. The head turned to face them, eyes red and mouth open. "You have proved more mettle in this land of metal...but you shall pay for destroying my body..." It jumped up somehow as suddenly, around them, they heard the sounds of the factory return...but faster and more intense than ever. It began immediately with the series of random notes.

Suddenly, its joints at the shoulders and hips flew out, pushing the remaining cylinders with them, thick girders following and coming out of the body. Only the arms ended with the balls as the main limb's joints. In back, there was a second girder that came from the ball--no, the leg--that ended in a hole in the middle of what they understood to be the foot. As well, the former elbows and kneecaps came apart, becoming paws (and pad and toes in the back). These came down fast and hit the ground at the apex of the jump, stopping it. An electrical plug with three prongs in familiar style (this sentence being for sake of describing clearly to you, of course) with a metal cord came out of the rear, and the mechanical creation, as the random notes switched back to the dinging of a metal bar with something like a spoon, was complete. It looked down with brighter eyes, one very angry cat.

"...Pay and regret forcing me to my emergency form!" it finished before lunging and making them roll aside.

The real fight finally began as the song of Clamor Plant proved to be a farce--THIS was Clamor Plant. Banging, scraping, clanging, thundering, dinging, with the sounds of the main melody pumping their blood with its ferocious, relentless fervorous playing of intense SIXTEENTH notes, even, banging on pipes, bars, everything with the metal drumsticks, and the harmony and accompinament complimenting with appropriate sounds. Anjoltvrya fought them relentlessly, never giving a chance to be hit. It swiped at them with its claws for a full heart of damage, which was hard to avoid because of how fast and big it was. (Rolling forwards or back when facing it was the key.) It tried leaning down and biting them, which was easy to get away from, so they didn't know it would have been a heart and a half. It tried to spin and slap them with the cord tail, which was only avoidable by backflipping for Link and jumping for Samba--this was three quarters of a heart. Finally, it spat out a ball of elecricity at one of them. It hit Link once, despite his shield, and it not only knocked him back and half a heart off of him, but it spread a five-foot-radius web of lightning on the ground that remained for a few seconds and took a quarter heart away every one of them once Link got on his feet again (doing a potential of a heart and three quarters of more damage, but they weren't stupid enough to remain for all seven seconds; Link, having to involuntarily stop each hit, got out in two when rolling). Samba actually caught one with Volt Claw, he got the idea, and it almost overloaded him by filling three quarters of his limit (he was about a tenth there from the initial charge he made to catch it safely).

After a little while in the barrage, Anjoltvrya stopped, jaw hanging open, then bounded over to one of the hatches, which it kicked open before sitting like the cat it was and plugging in its tail to the oversized socket in the wall. They noticed that before, the light row had only two lights left, with the second-to-last one pretty dim. Now, they slowly brightened again, one by one, going up. It was recharging its batteries, apparently. When it did this, a number of the circles on the floor, which Link saw were contact circuits, lit up. Link didn't need to be a genius to know that meant he had to Thunderforge either kind. He tried the glowing kind.

Instantly, Anjoltvrya yowled and spasmed a few times as the flow of electricity proved too much--it was overloaded. Then, it dropped to the ground, immobile for a few moments while it tried to handle the overload. Its stomach hung close to the floor, yet was well-exposed to the comparatively small swordsmen. The line of lights on it all lit up and began sort of counting down, one light of the eight going out every four seconds. They had thirty-two seconds.

And they'd better use it, since this was their chance, they saw. Strangely, the panel on the stomach started glowing red. Samba raised his eyeridges. "North!" he cried before charging over and using his still-live paws to cast Volt Claw for free. He began pulling it off. It groaned, but it started to come off slowly, he could feel it. After three and a half seconds, the glow suddenly changed, and he quickly switched paws to pull off the south-polarized plate. Three-point-five seconds more, and it sprang open.

Inside the navel, which was level to the ground to them, they saw a long, slim, cream-furred stomach. A light tan pelt was visible beyond the stomach part. All they saw was the middle--the arms and legs were inside metal parts, as were the tail and head. It was sort of like those three-panel sawing cabinets magicians use, and they could only see the middle while the person inside raised up their arms.

"The metal mountain lion's controlled by a REAL mountain lion?!" exclaimed Link, eyes wide and eyebrows narrowed in a "major HUUUH?" face.

"EIGHTSECONDSSLASHNOW!!" Samba ordered, drawing his sword. Link did, too, and both launched a four-slash combo on it, hearing pained roars from behind the steel and the music suddenly change to a more heroic theme--they could almost hear a few normal, if all-metal, instruments--from the factory around them before backing up. Good idea, too--"rebooted", it slammed the panel shut and got to its paws, roaring. It roared amplifedly again before attacking once more. The music returned to its definition of "normal".

This time, they noticed that stomped them sometimes if near it. This would have taken three quarters of a heart, but they were able to escape it--but not always the small shockwave that it made, sapping a quarter heart away. However, the battle wore on, and it ran out of juice again and had to recharge. Samba went towards it, half a charge left in his Volt Claw after another catch, while Link ran to Thunderforge a glowing spot. There were a couple fewer ones this time.

As soon as Anjoltvrya was jolted about, Samba set to work. It changed polarity twice before he finally got it off. Then, they set to work on it, getting in two full combos before time was up. It snapped the door shut and roared wilder than ever. The music picked up tempo to blistering speed and the BIG cat moved faster. They knew it was on its last legs.

Instead of firing one attack at a time, its swipes and stomps came in pairs while its electric attack came in dangerous threesomes. The bite was still solo. And it appeared to go on longer than ever.

Samba got overloaded, this time. When he accidentally caught a second blast of lightning, his claws made a sound like rain falling extremely hard, they crackled so. It came up his arms and around his body, making him stop and shake uncontrollably, bellowing in agony from the powerful shock. He had to kiss a whole heart's worth of strength goodbye. ("Screw it," he muttered after, grabbing his bottled fairy and using it then. "Link has one...")

However, all good and bad things have to come to an end. It went and plugged itself into the wall once again. Link dashed to find a spot to Thunderforge while Samba got to his position. "Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Link muttered feverishly, then yelled, "THERE!" as he jump attacked the spot.

After the convulsions, Samba, ready with Volt Claw almost fully charged, got to work. Almost each second, it switched, and it gave a quick switch near the end so he had to squawk and switch paws again, wasting precious time. But he got it off, and they went to town. One, two, three, FOUR! One, two, three--!

They stopped and looked at each other, then at the bloody, cut-up stomach. They knew.

This was it.

Switching sides to be proper, Link (who was leader) and Samba both grasped the Master Sword (Link finding Volt Claw didn't affect him by mere touch) with their dominant hand/paw and, with a roar, drove it into Anjoltvrya's chest together, the Rings of Dualty shining brightly.

Anjoltvrya, the music culminating in now-noteless noise of banging and ruckus, roared in agony, rearing its mechanical head. It stood feebly up on its feet, roaring again but weaker. It shook, then fell to its side. The eyes slowly dimmed. When they were out, the music stopped.

Then, the body of the lion came out weakly from the mobile suit, more flumping out then walking. It hit the floor to an accent all around. Its body was normal except for some metal-rimmed holes on its neck, arms, legs, and tail, thin cables sticking from a couple. It struggled to get up, a slow fanfare starting on the same metal bar instrument from before. It looked up at Link and Samba with paper-thin pupils in its bright red eyes. It reached a big, clawed paw up at them, almost standing, before, to another accent, it flopped down again, wheezing. A deep creaking was heard and all heads turned to the suit. Anjoltvrya let out a horrified, grating yowl as the suit rolled over and came down. Link and Samba ran back to avoid its fate.

Then, as the machine was about to hit the animal, it exploded twice at once--once as a real explosion and once as an explosion of defeat. As it fell and burst, the music came slowly, until they heard a full symphonic band accent the blast with a cymbal crash, complete with non-metal instruments, playing along with the metal group that had been playing the entire time, it sounded like. From the debris came a flying red object that jingled on the floor...which had changed.

Instead of the three lines supporting the triangle having lines sticking out, the sticking-out lines had slid into the center. A Triforce supported the mesh above the now-slowly-turning fan.

Link and Samba looked at all of this, then at each other with gaping smiles, and then grinned. Together, they faced away from the direction of the body and did their flourishing sheathings. The music flourished itself, then ended nicely. Only normal factory sounds were heard then.

Link turned and ran to the item that had fallen. Samba did, too, and they smiled broadly at it. Another Heart Container was in their grasp. "We came, we saw..." Link muttered.

"We heard," Samba finished with a chuckle.

Both let the item flow into them. They looked about. The remains of the XT23 were gone. They were alone. The circle of light both had seen after each's first Leviathan battle appeared in the center of the Triforce. "Well," Link said, stretching with laced fingers above his head and looking at his partner, "let's get going."

"Since there's no way back since those steps--" began Samba, looking up, before his ears caught something. "Shh," he shushed, grabbing Link's shoulder. A moment passed before he whispered, "I hear something faintly from up there."

"Another enemy? Gorons?" Link asked, whispering.

"The former; it's definitely too quiet for gorons." Samba raced up one of the pipes, climbing it like a pole with a little difficulty. Link followed, going up it considerably faster, giving him another point over Samba for physical abilities. 'They ARE said to be extremely distant descendents of monkeys,' mused the lizalfos. He made his way up a ladder and stood on the platform, looking around and listening. He heard it louder this time. Barely above the clunking of machinery...

_Screeetch-screeetch-screeetch screeetch-screeetch_.

"THERE!" Samba cried, pointing across the room.

Link squinted. He could barely see the small thing. "It's a gear," he said.

"On a solid wall and stopping every now and then, on its own," Samba detailed sarcastically, crossing his arms and raising an eyeridge at Link.

Link raised his eyebrows. "You're kidding!" he said hushedly. "In here, of all places?" He got out his bow and fired at the distant, moving object across from them and above them. From the distance, he heard a distant noise when his arrow hit a half-second later. He fired again and then definitely heard the squealing death cry. Blue flames lit up that spot he was looking at and he laughed in surprise. "Of all places!" he answered himself, chuckling.

"C'mon, let's go get it," Samba said, running around the perimeter of the room. They found it faster to just go down the gaps and up the ladders. A couple of these later and Link was in boomerange.

This time, he showed the medal on the back to Samba when they got the Skulltula Token. "They've got medals in back, too," he told him. "I wonder what for?"

"Hmmm...new to me," Samba shrugged after thinking a moment. He examined the medal. This time, it was red, shaped like a flower and had a picture of a pair of gloves. The back of the left had an S while the right had an N. "Wonder what these are?" he muttered.

"Well, since they're similar to the magnetic powers of your Volt Claw and they're gloves," Link reasoned, "I'd call them Magnet Gloves." And so they titled the medal.

"I wonder if someone in a town somewhere could tell us about these," Samba mumbled.

"Alright, shall we?" Link asked, pointing to the exit ring.

The two made it down there. Link got there first, and Samba came to stand next to him, both finding that they had to be together on it before it started to lift them up slowly. They rose slowly, starting to rotate gently as, after they lifted high enough, the world around the pair went black and a crystal formed about them, spinning the other way to them. Then, as they spun faster, everything faded to white around them--vision, sound, touch.

-

"...aa! Hey! What's going on!? We just...won--huh?" Samba blinked and looked around. They were somewhere new. A purple, cloudy, stormy sky stretched overhead. Grass went as far as the eye could see. A hill rose in the distance. Behind them was a white marble building--it was somewhat Roman in architecture in our terms--that was half-overgrown with foliage. It had no roof. Fountains worked in front of it. Mosaiclike stones were set around it, petering out until only a few sat around their feet. Looking around, they determined this was on the top of a cliff overlooking an ocean behind the building.

"Where ARE we?" Samba whispered.

"Here," came the answer from a female behind them. A giggle. "Where else?"

Link, then Samba turned and gasped.

Anjoltvrya, revealing herself to be female, stood in front of them, alive and well.

She was different, however. For one, her body's frame was changed to be bipedal--humanoid, standing her to be about two inches taller than Samba. This included her middle, which gained the hourglass shape that women have. She was well filled-out muscularly, and actually was on the chubby side of lean. Also, she had gotten some long, golden hair, with great bangs fluttering in the wind and the rest tied in a ponytail behind her. She wore clothing, as well--of all things, she had on a pair of grey denim (a foreign fabric to them) overalls with the legs rolled up to shorts and a red button-up shirt with rolled sleeves, as well.

The biggest difference was in her face. She looked much different from the hateful face before. Her eyes were calmer, her brows were not brought together, her mouth was smiling slightly. She seemed...not mean. In fact, she looked sad despite her upturned line.

She held a wrench in her right paw while the left stayed on her hip, slouching. She giggled again and waved when she saw their faces. "Surprised?" she asked. Her voice was deep for a female's, and a little rough, but still had a bit of calm, mellowness that made her sound nonthreatening, yet not exactly the kind of woman you'd expect.

"A little more than that, I'm afraid," Link replied, frowning and knitting his brow. He crossed his arms. "Try 'surprised and confused'."

Anjoltvrya shook her head, chuckling, before holding her paw up, two claws around the wrench. "I don't blame you," she sympathized. "I was a little like that, too, at first, before I remembered something..." She looked away, smile fading. The wind blew her hair across her face. "...this was sort of how I was a long time ago."

The boys exchanged glances.

Anjoltvrya shook her head, smiling faintly. "Now is not the time to talk of impertinent things," she said. "There is little time left." She nodded and looked back solemnly at Link and Samba for a moment, then stood straight, putting her free paw over her sternum. "As you probably have guessed, I am Anjoltvrya, Leviathan of Metal," she finally formally introduced herself. "Like all Leviathans of Material, I have been transformed by my own faults and an item I had not the right to own. You are the Knights of Dualty, and I not only thank you for defeating me, but I am honored to be defeated by the two brave souls who wield the Master Sword as one." She bowed deeply. They even saw that a pink bandanna with white polka dots and black smudges stuck halfway out of a rear pocket. She came up again and continued. "Metal is an astounding material--strong, yet malleable, it can be made into a great deal of things, even things that it needs to become a liquid to form. It is the key ingredient in weapons that tear people down--yet also the key ingredient in tools that hold houses up. Its potential is nearly limitless...which makes it valuable and dangerous.

"Knights of Dualty, you have braved a storm of metal and come back alive. You are responsible enough to endure such a hardship and assist others through it, as well as to share that enchanted piece of this material as equals." She raised her free paw up above her head, looking up. "I trust you, and believe you deserving to hold this more than I am deserving to guard it. Please...accept this Tool of Nations as apology for my foolishness, my abuse of metal, and my actions..."

A bright ball of red light formed above her head a moment before it burst in a flash. When it was over, Link and Samba saw something floating down from the sky above them and both reached up to catch it with their dominant hand/paw. A beautiful, hooked hammer with a leather-wrapped handle and a grand, ornate, vibrant crimson head came to hover between and a bit above their hand and paw.

Link and Samba received the Rose Hammer, a Tool of Nations! This red hammer represents the intense power of metal, from which come both swords to destroy and nails to create. It is Anjoltvrya's charge and apology to the gorons and to everyone for her misdeeds.

The Rose Hammer faded in a ball of red light that split into three, each light going into a Ring of Dualty. The two watched this and looked at Anjoltvrya.

"Now, then," she said, lowering her paw again and looking at them. She brought her paw to the wrench she held, pressed the palms together, then brought it away, spreading out a set of flat wrenches of differing size across the air in front of her. They went from largest to smallest from her left to her right. When she had spread out two rows, one row slightly above and between the other and holding much fewer, she stopped and flipped up two thin, wide-headed wrenches in her two paws. She bowed her head a bit, keeping her powerful eyes on Link and Samba.

Link's eyebrows shot up when he realized what she was doing before he elbowed Samba in his right arm and pulled out his ocarina to his lips. Samba grunted angrily at the hit, rubbing the arm and about to ask what the deal was when he saw his instrument up. This made him get it that Anjoltvrya had just spread out what resembled a xylophone, which he'd seen in his village before. He reached behind him with his left paw, into his bag with his right, and pulled out his guitar by the neck, putting his other arm up as the strap came down with his pick in paw. Both looked at the lioness, silent and waiting.

Anjoltvrya lowered her eyes to her instrument. "Remember this well," she said quietly, the wind blowing gently towards them, "for I do not have the time to explain any longer." She began to play.

At a moderate, solemn, 4/4 time tempo, she played a D in two octaves, waiting a half note's length before continuing with her right paw to a third octave D and back down to an F, each one a quarter note. She played a G with her left as she hit an A with her right before moving it over to the second D. While it moved, she continued the eighth note passage with her right and going down to the F again. Her left hit the D, her right hit the F again, and her left crossed over to hit the A, letting that ring as another half note. This strange melody she played twice (she played the low notes for Samba's sake):

D..._D_, F, A F D F A...

Dum...ding, dung, bing dung dum dung bing...

Link and Samba tried it together. Samba didn't do the chording right away since he was learning the song, so both merely played the melody. After getting it right, they both felt the rush of understanding they felt when learning Zelda's Lullaby before closing their eyes and playing, Samba playing along. The d minor melody repeated twice, but the second time, it went up to a C instead of an A. They stopped there for a moment.

Anjoltvrya played with them, taking a gently embellished accompaniment part, as they played through the somber, eight-bar melody with simple first-fourth-fifth-first (D-G-A-D) chording. After the part they'd played, it went not to the D the C wanted to move up to, but the E above it for a half note before going down. Two quarter notes, then two half notes, and the motive returned, going to the down D at the end instead of the A.

Link and Samba opened their eyes slowly, feeling somber, when it was over. They had learned a new melody.

Anjoltvrya gathered up the wrenches into her paws, clapping them slowly together. They were gone back to her normal wrench in her right paw after she opened them again. She looked up at them and simply said, "Play the Song of Penitence to return at any time to this place."

"Where ARE we, anyway?" asked Samba, raising an eyeridge.

She smiled faintly. "Here, of course," she replied. The world began to turn white again. After she and the strange world faded away and blank was all they saw, they heard her voice: "Worry not...the cacophony symphony has finished. I wish thee luck."

- - -

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS -- OPTIONAL READING

YES! **DONE**DONEDONEDONE**_DONE_** WITH THIS PLACE!! And Link and Samba learned a new song from the boss! Yes, I took a page from Majora for that, as well as for the song that I spent my practice time and some time after my shower last night composing it. I'm not sure about the last four measures, so that's why I left it partially unexact. Besides, it was taking up space, anyway XP But at last, we're done with this dungeon. I'm sorry it was so...well, excessive, but...*shrugs* I wish I could call that song more than a Song, but...I dunno what else to say. I couldn't decide. Requiem was already taken, it's not churchy enough for a Prayer, and I'm pretty sure there's already a real-life Psalm of Penitence. Also, sorry if the boss fight seemed pretty bad. And I'm planning on fixing a plot hole when I do the wrap-up for this...but not for this update. I've got WAY too much stuff to do!! I've been writing on this for four days STRAIGHT and I'm DONE!! (For now.)

Liberties taken:

- They really shouldn't be able to hear the BGM, but for Clamor Plant, I'm making an exception. (I can't WAIT until I finally get that thing together...it's hard to compose, since it's got a lot of notes and I'm just not skilled enough. I can't get a good grasp of it, either--it's just a crazy, hypnotic, noisy melody in my head that's like Stomp but crazier. Spoons on prison bars, that's all I'll say. It's in my heart and head, but...!)

I'm doing something different with the Skulltula Tokens, yeah. Points if you can figure out the theme for the medals! :) (Of course, because Zelda is just TOO DAMN BIG, I don't think I'm gonna be doing EVERY token (I may do some repeat sorta thing...). Hell, minigames are gonna be a bitch, and I'll have to include at LEAST one.) And, no, I have no clue who they're gonna go to for the Tokens yet. Now, for my final question, did any of you forget Link's wearing a different tunic at any time? :D

Oh, and don't worry, I'll try to move things along from now on. No other dungeon's gonna be this complicated, I assure you! Too much description here! Shutting up!


	17. You Are Here

As soon as Anjoltvrya fell, the gorons began to hear something.

It took a few seconds for them to realize that a dull, muffled whirring sound no longer came from the Pegbot at the base of the ramp in the second conveyor room. Boroy also ceased to hear a quiet din from the pipes behind the panel. He realized this, putting his ear to the panel, opening it after a second, and then pulling away to venture carefully down the ramp. He slowly approached the Pegbot...closer...then got close enough he knew he would have activated it.

It stayed down.

He put a foot on it and looked at his fellow gorons excitedly.

Soon, all the gorons in the foundry were pouring out into Pouring. All around them, machinery was whirring down. The gears clinked...clanked...clunked...and a few Cirkitts that had come in, probably another wave to try and get past the beamos, suddenly began stopping, falling limp...shutting off.

The factory was closing down for the day.

The gorons cheered and clapped and hollered for joy. Sarbog came out of the door, looked around, and smiled, crossing his arms, nodding.

Boroy high-fived one of the gorons, laughing, then looked at the door to Melting, smiling that smile worn by people who realize their faith was soundly founded.

A beam of light came down through the ceiling to the center of the main part of Pouring. Coming down it, side by side with dominant hands between them, were Link and Samba. They slowed before landing gently. As their weight settled down on the floor once more, the pillar of light faded away. They looked around them in confusion. "Wait, why aren't we outside?" muttered Samba before Link shushed him. He looked at him a moment before asking, "What?"

"You hear that?" Link asked in a hushed voice, looking around.

"...Hear what?" As soon as he had said this, Samba realized what it was, gasping.

"Silence," they said together. Around them, its sweet serenade had settled about, much-needed. The cacophony symphony had at last reached its _fine_ for everyone.

"BROTHERS!" called a voice. They turned around and saw Boroy jogging towards them, waving. "YOU'RE ALRIGHT!"

They waved at him, smiling a little, as he slowed to a halt by them. "Yeah, but we might well have not been," Link replied.

"But you _are_ alright, and that's what matters," Boroy stated, putting his fists to his hips. He smiled proudly. "I knew I could count on you two, Brothers," he said. "From the moment I saw you, I had a feeling you were both something special." He beckoned back with an arm. "Come on! The others want to thank you, too!" he coaxed.

They walked back to the group of gorons, all of them, and were greeted with shouts and applause and (unintentionally hard) slaps on the back.

"Thank you so much, Brothers!"

"You did great!"

"We can finally go home to our families!"

"Three cheers for Link and Samba!"

As they were given, the two swordsmen blushed. Link held his arms behind his back and did the old dirt kick while Samba put his paw behind his neck, rubbing it while pointing his muzzle down. He held his tail loosely with his other paw. When it was over, they looked up, regaining composure as Sarbog stepped forth. He looked serious at first, arms crossed, before smiling and holding them open, coming forth. Link and Samba squeaked before being embraced by the strongest arms they'd ever felt around them (even for Link, who had been gripped by Ruedekul pretty tight—at least the Leviathan had a slack enough grip that he could worm his arm out to use his boomerang). "Brothers, you have survived the Clamor Plant in its entirety and saved it—and us with it—by defeating that horrible beast. Congratulations and thank you," he said warmly. He parted and held them, smirking impressedly at the two. (They were still a little taken by surprise and were doing their best not to gasp for air rudely.) "I shouldn't have expected any less from the chosen wielders of the Master Sword, though," he chuckled.

Link and Samba stepped back a bit, returning the smile up to him. "It wasn't a problem," Link told him. "I'm glad we could help."

"And I'm just glad that it's over," Samba rumbled a little. "Though, that final fight WAS quite exciting."

'And I enjoyed the puzzles here,' Link added to himself.

Sarbog sighed and clapped his hands together. "Well, that's that, then," he said. "We should be getting back. Thank you again, Brothers. You should come back in a few days—we'll have this place fixed up in no time, and it'll be more comforting and less dangerous, I assure you. Less noisy, as well." He looked around at everyone sternly before speaking to them. "Alright! The doors to the cart back home should be unbarred. There should also be a few carts in the nearby station to Death Mountain Crater. Regardless, getting home should be no problem. So, then, Brothers!"

"SIR!" the gorons turned to him, standing straight and giving total attention.

Sarbog savored the silence a moment, looking around at them, before shouting, "The day is done! DISMISSED!"

"Thank you, sir!" came the reply before they all bustled back to retrieve their possessions.

Boroy was the only one remaining. "Sir, I'll accompany them home," he told the foreman, who nodded before turning again to retrieve his things. Turning to Link and Samba, the mechanic said, "We should take that cart to Goron City before it's filled up." He turned and pointed. "Through the foyer, then the west conveyors room!"

They nodded and set off. "Thank you, Boroy, for taking us here in the first place," Link said as they walked. "We might never have gotten here to help, otherwise."

"We learned and got a great deal here," Samba smiled. "Even if we didn't need to help you guys, it was still worth the pain."

Boroy batted a hand dismissively. "Think nothing of it, Brothers," he told them, looking over his shoulder. "Everyone benefited in the end, and so it all came out well. As you said, it was worth it. I'm just happy that everyone can come home, now."

He pressed the button on the door and led them through to the foyer. "And the best part is, our economy is saved!" he continued, throwing his arms up happily, turning and walking backwards. "This is our only place to at least do blacksmith work. Now, we can work here in relative peace once again. Sure, there've always been a few annoying helmasaurs and bokoblins around, but we enjoy handling them." He turned to the door to the first conveyors room. "I suppose we are going to lay off this place for a little while, though, to calm down," he chuckled, pressing the button. His mirth stopped as he saw what was behind it—in fact, he jumped back a little while his face fell.

Two staring bright green eyes burned holes into the back of his soul.

Link and Samba caught their breath. _Daigorno._

Daigorno, fists clenched, came in, ducking and going one shoulder at a time to fit through the door. He was frowning tightly. "Boroy!" he said curtly and loudly. "What is the meaning of this? You were not to return to the factory without my ex_press_ permission!" He looked up and noticed Link and Samba, then looked back at Boroy, flicking a hand out at them. "And you brought two others with you, too!" he added. "Do you _want _to be severely punished _that badly?_"

Boroy stumbled back a bit, stuttering fearfully. (Link noticed something burning behind Daigorno's eyes that he didn't like at all.) "B-B-Big Brother, please, understand," he pleaded, "I-I did this to s-save the f-foundry-"

"But you SHOULD have come to ME _first!_" shouted Daigorno, waving his arm across the air. He stood and looked around. "Why is it quiet? _Why are the machines not running?_" He looked back at Boroy scornfully. "It looks like you did little to save the foundry—more like you _doomed_ it!"

"No, Big Brother, the machines are off because the monster's gone!" Boroy tried.

"Really? Just because a monster's gone the machines are off? HAH! I don't believe you!" Daigorno spat. He leaned down and prodded Boroy's chest with his fingertip, which took up quite a bit of space on it. "I bet _you_ turned them all off, thinking that the monsters couldn't get to them otherwise! That'd just make them easier for those foul idjits to break them!"

"B-b-but, Big Brother..." Boroy murmured.

Link opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. Samba did the same thing, and then they looked at each other with unsure expressions. This guy was a brick wall—nothing could get through to him and he just wouldn't budge with anything they could think to try and throw at him. They could try showing him the Master Sword, showing that they were more than capable of helping the foundry, but they knew he'd ignore it. They could attempt Zelda's Lullaby, but that might make him madder. They could even give showing him the Rose Hammer a shot, but not only did they not know how to summon it at will, but he might not have even known what it was.

"Maybe we should play that song we just learned and escape," Samba suggested in a whisper.

"I'd rather we didn't," Link whispered back. "But we might need to—maybe she can tell us what to do."

"Right," nodded Samba, reaching behind his back to get his guitar.

Just then, the door to Pouring opened. It was Sarbog, carrying a tough burlap bag in his left hand. He narrowed his eyebrows sharply as he stepped in, crossing his arms. Daigorno was still yelling at Boroy, accusing him and threatening him.

"...And I bet you were the cause of all of this! You botched up a machine repair and sent out some fine, electric signal out that attracted the monsters! Tell me the truth, or you'll be REALLY sorry!" he continued.

Suddenly, Sarbog grabbed Daigorno's head, whipped it up and around to face him and his serious visage, and made his own threat surprisingly calmly, "Stop harassing my mechanic, Big Brother, or I am having this place dismantled right this instant."

Daigorno raised his eyebrows a moment before humphing and standing up straight again. Boroy backed away and got by Link and Samba, breathing a sigh of relief. "Sarbog. You should keep a better hold on your charges," the chief admonished Sarbog. "This one—"

"Led those two gentlemen here to destroy the monster who had taken control of the foundry," finished Sarbog, pointing at Link and Samba. "Without the three of them, Link and Samba doing at _least _95% of the work, this foundry would have been lost, I assure you, and me and my workers starved and exhausted to death."

Daigorno raised an eyebrow. "You're not lying to save your worker, are you?" he asked.

Sarbog put his hands on his hips, looking hard at Daigorno. "When have I ever shown mercy to anyone who doesn't deserve it?" he asked.

Daigorno frowned a moment before taking a big breath, letting it out through is nose. "You have a point, there," he admitted. "You're the harshest goron in the city. Not even the princess of Hyrule would escape your wrath if she didn't prove herself to you."

(This reminded Link and Samba of the fact Zelda was missing, and Link asked Samba to remind him to include that in their talk with Daigorno later.)

"Which means that when I say that anyone's done something, it's never a lie. You know better, Big Brother," _Sarbog_ admonished _the chief_. "So, respect Boroy, Link, and Samba, since they have saved our livelihood and our lives," he told him. "As well, understand that the machines were under the control of the monster—hence why they are currently off. Besides, I say it's time to go home. So we're shutting down and going home."

Daigorno opened his mouth.

"And that's that," Sarbog added firmly.

Daigorno closed his mouth, frowning, for a while. Then, he slowly smirked, then smiled, then grinned. "The factory is safe," he said. He turned to the other three, arms open. "YOU SAVED THE FACTORY!" he cheered heartily, voice resonating throughout the room.

'Oh, no, not another goron hug!' Link and Samba thought, widening their eyes before flinching as the arms came down.

To their relief, Daigorno lowered them only onto their shoulders. They looked up at his face. "You two were the ones who did the dirty work, hm?" he asked. They nodded. "Then thank you. Forgive my rudeness before." He stepped back, looking a bit more serious. "As unhappy as I am that I was disobeyed, I understand that it was for a good cause. Now, my worries about our economy have been lifted. We can soon be back here, working as we always have. Which is good—we have gotten quite a few orders backed up in the time the foundry's been inaccessible, and we should hurry up and fill them. Regardless..." He bowed to them briefly. "Thank you. You are welcome in Goron City any time. Now...you should return. Take the cart directly to the city."

"Big Brother, why are you here, in the first place?" Sarbog asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daigorno turned to him. "I had a feeling," he replied. "I took the cart down here and just a minute ago came off. I found the conveyers and machines all off and was confused and angered, then I ran into Boroy while looking for you. Please, Brother, tell me what happened." He turned to the other three. "In the meantime, head back to the city. I shall rejoin you there."

"Right," nodded Boroy, smiling.

"Now, then," Daigorno said, turning, walking into Pouring again with Sarbog, looking at him, "how did this all begin...?"

As they left, Boroy turned to Link and Samba, breathing a relieved sigh. "That was close!" he mopped his brow. "Big Brother has never been that angry at me before. In fact, this was the first time I have seen him that angry _ever_."

"I wonder why..." mumbled Samba, crossing his arms and furrowing his brow.

Boroy clapped his hands together. "Well, shall we?" he asked briskly. He turned, and they all advanced on through the second conveyors room. Indeed, all of the machines were off. Samba noticed that the avert circuit puzzle was turned off, probably having done so automatically.

As they went over the belts, Link couldn't help but ask Boroy, "How did you feel when he yelled at you like that?"

Boroy was silent for a moment before replying quietly, not facing them, "To tell you the truth, Brothers, a little scared, but mostly confused, and just as worried. I was scared about what he might do to me, confused about why he was suddenly treating me like slag, and worried about what I should do."

Link frowned at this. "Well, it's over," he said. "He was...just frazzled. He's been under stress, and seeing the factory basically shut down...well, he might have panicked and gotten a little afraid, himself."

Samba chuckled mirthlessly. "That reminds me of a saying: 'Fear makes monsters of us all,'" he quoted, looking away. He quietly, minutely, highlighted the word, "monsters."

They reentered the room the compass was in and saw, directly in front of them, the door was now unbarred. It was also devoid of the organic enemies they encountered before. The Auto Carts were off. Samba experimentally reached down, finding the switch, and flicked it. To his disappointment, it did nothing. He switched it on and off before Boroy said, "Those were linked to the monster you two destroyed, so they're not going to work anymore. The only mechanoids you two had to deal with that still work are the beamos, and those became benign while you were midway through, anyway."

"But these were kind of cute..." Samba frowned softly, rising. Link chuckled.

They entered the last room of the plant they had not entered yet. The map stated simply, "To Goron City," in small letters. An arrow pointed outside the walls of the plant. Before them in reality was a simple room that was stone in the south and west walls and metal everywhere else. Another one of those carts was there, sticking out in the middle of the room and disappearing through the gaping black hole in the west wall. Its door, facing them, was open. They got in as before. Boroy worked some levers and soon, the cart was starting to whirr its way back, carrying them. "This engine is amazing," he commented enthusiastically as they began picking up speed through the dark. "Though it is so small, it is capable of powering heavy beings like ourselves up the steep inclines of our tunnels at impressively high speeds. You'd better hold on, again, Brothers! It'll be less noisy and slower, but still not much less exciting!"

They did as they were told as the track began to climb, tilting them, the cart slowing a moment. It sped back up again, though, and began going faster than when they were level until they were rattling along quite quickly. Not nearly as fast as when it was freely rolling downhill, it still went along at a hazardous rate. Again, they traveled in darkness.

Soon, they were back up at the top. Boroy killed the power as soon as they crested the hill and put on the brakes, making another dazzling display of sparks fly out the back. When they safely bumped against the bracer, he opened the doors, happily announcing, "We're here! Goron City!"

Link got off before Samba and awaited his companion. When Samba came up, he took one look at Link and chuckled, shaking his head. "You're thinking again," he noticed. "This can't be good."

"I'm just wondering...That ride was actually kinda fun," Link said, shrugging. "I was only thinking that it could maybe be a good attraction if it was more accessible to the general public..."

Boroy overheard, looking over his shoulder from closing the door to the cart. "You know, I've been thinking that, too, for a long time," he said. He finished closing the door and turned, standing with an interested expression. "I mean, all of the gorons love the ride. We can't use the tracks used for getting to and from the foundry for fun, but I've always wanted to try and build something more like a mix of the Shooting Gallery that was down in Castle Town and these mine cart rides...not as fast, though." He sighed. "I'm too afraid to ask for serious consideration, though..." he trailed off disappointedly.

Link shook his head, raising his eyebrows. "If you think it's worth the risk," he said, "work up the courage to ask!" He chuckled and smirked wryly. "If you could endure Clamor Plant, I'm sure you can do it. Just build up some good reasons and present your case to whoever is the boss for this, then see what happens." He held a finger up. "Grandfather always says, 'Successful ventures happen only when you venture.'"

Boroy looked at Link, then his face lightened and he banged a fist into his palm, nodding resolutely. "You're right, Brother!" he announced. "I've got enough evidence already, and I'm sure that I can find SOMEthing to add on with this experience. Thank you, Brother!"

Link smiled, nodding. "No problem," he said. "Good luck!"

"Yes, thank you, Brother!" Boroy said again. He raised his eyebrows, remembering why they were there. "Oh, and good luck to you, too, when you talk with Big Brother," he added, smiling sheepishly. "We'd better go into the city and wait for him. He'll probably be back in a little while, since we took the fast way back and made him have to take the slow one." He furrowed his brow in thought as he muttered, "We should really use two tracks for that entrance..." He looked up again and smiled, waving. "I'd better get home, too. Thank you SO much again, Brothers! See you later!" he bade.

Link and Samba welcomed him and bade him goodbye. He walked off down a corridor and they turned to each other. "Well, then, what next?" asked Samba.

"Since we have to wait for him to return, maybe we should try out that song?" Link suggested.

"If it transports us like it sounds like it does, should we try it somewhere people wouldn't see us come and go and freak out?"

Link thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Let's look for somewhere private."

They went down the corridor, too, and soon found themselves on the second-to-last level of the city. They found a pair of goron guards at the entrance, and remembered seeing them before. "Are you the two that mechanic mentioned?" asked one as they came out into the light of the underground city again. Link and Samba nodded, and the guards smiled at them. "Thank you so much, Brothers! Now, hopefully, we don't have to guard this place anymore!"

"That depends whether Big Brother is in a good mood, now, though..." the other guard said.

"Mmm. But until then, we'll just wait here, I guess," the first said, shrugging.

They allowed Link and Samba by, and they looked around. They found a little side tunnel within one of the other main stairwells, and they went down it curiously. It led down to what appeared to be a room occupied by a number of large crates filled with rocks. "Since the gorons eat rocks, this might be a food storage room," Samba guessed when Link looked wonderingly at this.

After poking around curiously, they discovered a little alleyway surrounded in a corner by three crates and normal stone walls on the other sides. There had been a small gap between one of the crates and the wall that no goron could go through, but they could with relative ease. "Maybe they were too lazy in pushing them all the way in, or they started pulling out before realizing their mistake and not fixing it," Link suggested.

They looked around at this good-sized empty space. "Well, looks as good a place as any," Samba said, shrugging. "Don't think anyone's going to be coming in anytime soon. This is pretty far back into the room."

Link was about to bring his instrument out again when he looked down at himself thoughtfully. "...Say, Samba, could you turn around for a bit?" he asked. "I want to change back into my normal clothes, if that's okay."

Samba raised an eyeridge, but shrugged and turned around. In a much shorter time than he thought would pass, he was told he could look again and he turned to see Link putting his hat back on, the rest of his normal, green outfit fully donned. Samba blinked at this, but decided not to look into it.

Link then actually did bring out his ocarina again and Samba his guitar, and together, they just played the melody of the Song of Penitence halfway through. After they did, Link suddenly felt as if he were asked a question double-checking what he wanted to do (but not Samba). He raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

As soon as he did and as they put away their instruments, a ring of white light shone on the ground around each of them. Its rays, circling clockwise around Link and counter-clockwise around Samba, reflecting their Spin Attack directions, quickly grew taller and taller until they almost obscured them. Just as they reached the tops of their heads, the rings of light below them shot up, quickly taking them with from the ground up. They stopped in the place the points of their rays had reached, spinning quicker for a second before joining into themselves and launching up towards the ceiling, shrinking into nothing after traveling three feet. A faint spark shone as they blipped out of existence.

( )

The two balls of light flew down from the stormy clouds. They separated and went around what would be the roof for the roofless building and between some of the pillars on either side before coming together again. They slowed down as they approached the ground. When they reached it, they bobbed right back up, tightly spiraling in the directions they had in ring form before, and sprayed a shower of points of light as they went. As they did, Link and Samba reappeared from the feet up, the balls of light petering out to nothing after reaching a good foot above their heads.

They blinked and looked around, then at each other, eyebrows/-ridges raised at the experience. "Flashy," Samba commented.

"Quite," agreed Link.

They looked at where they were. They were back in the place they had been in about fifteen minutes ago, after defeating Anjoltvrya, but this time, they were in the building on the cliff instead of before it. They heard the sea crashing behind and below them and saw marble all around. All the building was, it appeared, was a pillar-surrounded square of aged, raised flooring, with the only real wall being behind them, towards the edge of the cliff. They noticed some statues worked in black, crusty stone, and a scant few in pristine, smooth marble, sitting around the building. These were of what appeared to be creatures, but the black stone statues were little more than lumps of rock with a few chunks taken off to suggest some sort of figure. Whether they were on two legs or more, or if there were things coming from their backs or not, or if they were holding anything, or if they had any other even vaguely distinguishing feature was utterly unclear.

The two swordsmen stood upon a large, foot-high, old, white dais of an unrecognizable stone with a Triforce in it in gold. In the center of each triangle was a colored gem, matching with the Rings of Dualty. In a lowered, half-foot-high outer ring surrounding the dais, they noticed ten different symbols inscribed into circles were engraved an inch deep. The tiled floor around them was interrupted by a long, supremely ragged and holey carpet stretching from the entrance to the dais. They shrugged and walked down to it and went across.

"Hello?" Link called as they exited the building, looking around. Nobody was around, it appeared.

Samba frowned and crossed his arms, pouting. "Well, if there's nobody to talk to, then why would we ever come back to this gloomy place?" he complained.

"It _is _interesting," Link reasoned, looking at him. "But comforting, not precisely."

They looked out around them harder, this time. It appeared they were actually on a sizable island of sorts; they wondered why all they could see at first was a sea of grass. They were at the top of a little hill. The terrain of the island varied abruptly in a few places, but most of it was boring, uneventful green grass. There was a small outcropping of trees in one place, and they noticed a cliff rising up and bearing a large opening into a cave. Again, they noticed that a hill rose in the distance. They found that there was a small perimeter of grass around the building behind them. (The stones outside only fanned far out from the front; they stopped a few stones out around the other sides.) They went and peeked around it, noticing that there was a red and golden light coming from the horizon in that direction. It turned the purpleish stormclouds more a raspberry-like magenta, like clouds at sunset. It was glorious, inspiring, and beautiful, like a bad day's positive last hurrah before it died. They came around and looked out at it together, standing in wonder at it.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" asked a voice. The crashing of the waves below made the sudden sound not come _so_ sudden that they jumped, letting them simply turn their heads towards it right away. Leaning on the ten-foot-tall foundation of the building was Anjoltvrya, paws in her pockets and looking out at the light. The gentle wind blew her hair away from them. She chuckled and pushed off the wall to walk to them. "Thought I'd wait for you two here, but you took a little longer than I'd thought, so I came here for a bit," she explained when she was close enough to be heard more legibly, smiling a little.

"Sorry, we got a little occupied," Link apologized, looking a little sheepish.

Samba looked out at the sky again. "It _is _gorgeous," he agreed.

"Yes, it is," Anjoltvrya nodded, looking back at it with Link. "I never tire of looking at it. I'm told that it used to be even better, though." She glanced Link up and down briefly. "Changed clothes, huh..." she muttered.

"Well, it's a sunset, isn't it?" Samba looked at her. "Of course it will reach its best point before it starts to sink beyond the world."

Anjoltvrya shook her head, smile fading. "I'm told that it's not exactly a sun," she said. "It is a source of light of some sort, but of what kind, we are unsure."

"'We?'" repeated Link.

Anjoltvrya nodded, smiling at him. "Yes, we," she confirmed. "You thought I was the only one here?"

"For the last time," growled Samba a mite impatiently upon hearing this, turning his whole body to face her and gesticulating exaggeratedly with one paw, "_where IS 'here?'_"

Anjoltvrya gave a little giggle. "Here, obviously," she answered. She saw Samba snout-palm, growling in annoyance, and giggled a bit more. "Well, alright, this might help," she said, reaching behind her. She pulled out a piece of paper folded up into a square. She handed it to Link, who took it and unfolded it.

Link raised his eyebrows before taking out the larger map of Hyrule he got from the Forest of Peril. He looked around for wherever it could fit before shrugging and putting away the main map, leaving the map he just got on its own. Samba came and looked at it. "Alright, what is this place?" he asked flatly. "Where are we?" He looked at the title and widened his eyes.

Link couldn't help but chuckle a bit while his partner blinked in disbelief. "You are Here," he replied, pointing to where it appeared they were.

According to the map, they were, indeed, "Here".

Samba snout-palmed again, moving his paw to his eyes. "Grroooooogh...that's just stupid..."

"Well, it's just where we are, so you can deal with it if you don't like it," Anjoltvrya told him, eying and waggling her wrench at him in playful warning.

"Why did you want us to come back?" Link asked, putting the map away after ascertaining that, indeed, they were on a nearly bare island. "To talk?"

"Yes," Anjoltvrya nodded. "We Leviathans can give you some assistance if needed, once we have been defeated. Besides, it can get a little lonely once in a while," she added, looking at them with a cat's version of puppy dog eyes.

"Did you say there are others?" Samba asked, having regained composure.

Anjoltvrya nodded and turned her body, beckoning over her shoulder. "Come on; they really want to talk to you, actually." When Link and Samba began following a little uncertainly, she smiled slightly. "Don't worry," she said gently. "They're like me, now—back to normal. Well..." She trailed off, looking away a little. "At least a fair bit better than they were." She shook her head and jerked it. "Come on, I'll lead you to them! Don't be scared! Besides, it's not like you can't take them," she added wryly, shrugging her paws up. She jogged ahead, running nothing like they thought a girl would move despite her slight hip-swinging walk. (This might have been natural, however, given how cats walk normally.)

Link and Samba gave weak laughs to each other before trotting to follow.

Once they came back out to the front of the building, which Anjoltvrya (and the map) told them was called Entrance Hall, they traveled down the slope towards the miniature forest they had seen before. "We are on your side, now," she assured as they walked along. "Don't worry." She looked Link up and down again for a moment, raising an eyebrow. "You know, you look good in green," she commented. Link smiled modestly.

"What's the deal with you guys, anyway?" Samba asked curiously. "I mean, what makes you Leviathans?"

Anjoltvrya looked over her shoulder with her faint smile. "At first, on the outside, we could be no different from you two. Some of us may, in fact, be just like you. We could even be mere animals or other living creatures that are normally unable to communicate with you 'sentient beings'." She put quotes around those words, rolling her eyes. "Actually, to go on a tangent briefly, all animals can communicate with each other; it's just that once a race gains the ability to use tools or whatever the requirements of sentience are, they forget how...mostly."

"Yes, mostly," confirmed Samba, nodding. "Some of the monster races are still able to speak with their relatives. However, all of the 'higher' monsters, as we call those like myself or moblins, are unable to. Moblins are unable to communicate with normal pigs, I've heard, and I can't talk to other reptiles. We _do _try to learn other monster languages, though."

"Which is why you learned Hylian?" asked Link.

Samba blushed and looked away. "Um...Well, that was because Mom forced me, but we mostly don't consider your language worth learning, frankly," he answered. "But I guess so."

Link raised an eyebrow, smirking. "You can't speak other monster languages, can you?" he asked. Samba only kept blushing, and Link chuckled and looked at Anjoltvrya.

As they reached level ground, she nodded and continued, "According to legend, the three Golden Goddesses—Din, Nayru, and Farore—created the world. The Leviathans of Material owe their existence by disrespecting that which each created." Her smile fell a little as they caught up to walk on either side of her (Link on her right, Samba her left). She looked down at her footpaws, placing them one in front of the other. She looked up again, looking forwards. "I'm sure you've heard the hylian myth of creation, so I don't have to retell it."

"Ummmm...not me, actually," Samba said, raising a paw and feeling a little embarrassed.

Anjoltvrya nodded, looking at him, while Link came to his aid. "Well, Samba, in summary, the myth states that in the beginning, three Golden Goddesses descended upon the land that would become Hyrule. Din shaped the world we walk upon, giving us a place to live. Nayru created the law of the world, making things work and setting down rules that must be followed. Then Farore created us—life—the creatures to follow that law. When they were finished, they departed this world."

"And they left the Triforce, correct?" Samba checked. Link and Anjoltvrya nodded. He smiled, nodding, too. "That's all I know—after the goddesses left, they left behind the golden Triforce, which contains amazing abilities that are granted to whoever touches it. If I'm not mistaken, Din's power, Nayru's wisdom, and Farore's courage."

"Correct," Anjoltvrya nodded, smiling a bit. "But the Triforce isn't what I'm talking about." She looked forwards again, smile fading. "In this world, there are things which are not yours to have. However, people take these things, anyway. Some foolishly claim the gifts of the earth as their own, although they are for everyone. Others claim worldly possessions that are obviously not theirs as their own. A few even go so far as to call other living creatures as their own to do with as they please. There are a few things, though, that are not yours to such an extreme, the goddesses themselves may directly punish you should you try to fully claim them as your own—unless they desire you to have them. Falsely claiming as one's own one of these things is the final and key step in creating a Leviathan."

"But what about-" began Samba before Link waved his arm at him, shushing him.

Anjoltvrya continued, "There are other steps that must be taken, of course. Whether after gaining power from the forbidden object or before, we all have done great misdeeds. We prostitute part of what makes up the physical world, be it natural or created, a part used by civilization in building and other important tasks, using it wrongly to achieve our ends. We defy the law of the world—the basic morals that all living creatures must follow to the best of their abilities—breaking it without regret, committing evil to our fellow creatures and acting abhorrently, defiling that we do not like. We wrong the creatures of the world, using them directly and distantly against their will for our own pleasures and desires, abusing them with pain both physical and non, in ways wickedly quick to tortuously slow, destroying them in body, mind, spirit, soul, inside, out, and entirely."

She looked down, a look of deep guilt on her face. "In short, we sin," she said quietly.

A moment later, she went on, face still down, "When we have filled our hearts with at least the desires to do these things, whether we do some of them or not, and we gain possession of one of those forbidden objects, we are transformed as punishment." She held her paw up, the one holding the wrench, and opened her claws. "While we are enlarged and given terrible powers, we are filled with thoughts of nothing but obsession—we wish nothing more than to satisfy ourselves in whatever twisted ways we desire." She clenched the tool tightly and suddenly. "Yet we know, in the backs of our minds, as soon as we change, that we have done something wrong—we become more afraid than most of us had ever been in our lives." She lowered her fist. "But we are unable to do anything to halt ourselves. We soon forget that we have done something wrong, forget everything, and instead merely have an annoying confusion as to why we would want to stop, a question that nags at us every day."

She raised her head as they entered the stand of trees. "Our disrespect to Din by qualmless abuse of material, our disrespect to Nayru by foolishly defying her law, and our disrespect to Farore by foul actions towards others...and, perhaps, a touch of fate...all combine with that which we obtain, and we become Leviathans of Material," she summarized solemnly. "That is how we come to be."

"...Wow," Samba said quietly after the mountain lioness was silent for a moment, finished. He frowned a bit. "You sound so...sad...I'm sorry I asked."

Anjoltvrya shook her head, smiling faintly again. "No, I'm not sad, exactly," she said, looking at him. "I'm just ashamed. Ashamed at what I did. And don't worry, I wanted to tell you sometime, anyway. The best way to learn of what a Leviathan is is straight from the beast's mouth."

Link looked around. They were now within the miniature forest they had set out towards. Its contents were a little thicker than they had looked at first. "So, who are we seeing?" he asked.

"Ah, speaking of," Anjoltvrya went, holding a claw up and smiling at him a bit. She beckoned and weaved around some trunks. They followed her until she stopped. "Alright, then, he's over there," she said, motioning to a little clearing among the trees. "Well, he'll be there, at least. Go on."

Link frowned at his question being ignored, but went over, Samba following. Anjoltvrya stayed at the edge of the clearing. They saw nothing in the clearing except three relatively small, low stumps and a large, low, pink-and-white flower in the middle. Link thought he recognized it from somewhere, but couldn't recall where. Samba, though, appeared alert; he'd begun walking with his buckler raised. "Hello?" called out Link, looking around. He noticed now that the flower had a few leaves sticking out of a woody lump in the center. No, more than a few leaves...many...

The ground rumbled a bit, making both swordsmen stop a few feet before the flower, before something rose out of the middle of the plant with a great rustling. A light brown, wooden body, shaped like part of an upside-down water drop, with no real head and basic, straight arms and legs revealed itself, back to them. It appeared to have long "hair" of leaves hanging off the ends and lengths of thin vines that reached the small of its back, being tied into a ponytail by a band of brighter-wooded vine. Its back was covered by what seemed to be the back of a tailcoat made of autumn leaves. It stopped rising when it was about the height of an adult human male, and stood still, arms at its sides. Then, it said in a deeper-than-normal voice, "So...we meet again, Link."

Link was confused for only a quarter of a second before realizing who it was. He reached his arm back and gripped his shield by the arm strap, ready to bring it off of the holder on the strap that it shared his sheath with, flip it around and bring it to the front, and shake it onto his arm and grab the handle, all in the same slick movement he'd perfected over the course of his adventure. "Ruedekul," he named, wariness in his tone.

The arboreal being briefly bowed slightly—nodding, since it had no way to actually nod without a neck. "Yes," he confirmed. He turned around on the spot to face them. He revealed himself to be a tall, adult deku scrub. His "hair" was sort of slicked back from his face, though a few bangs came out. His glowing, yellow and red eyes peered at them from their seemingly cut-out shapes of mellow, yet sad, crescents; they still held a sense of slight sternness in them, though. His short tube-like mouth wore a split mustache of moss above it. His article of clothing was confirmed as a long vest of autumn leaves, with large acorn caps forming four buttons. After turning and facing them entirely, he bowed deeply, placing a hand over his breast. (His feet were basic, being of the shoe-shaped single-toe kind.) "I am indeed Ruedekul," he introduced. He stood again, looking at them as he placed his hands behind his back. "As you can see, I am a member of the deku tribe inhabiting the Verdart Swamp region of Hyrule. I am also the Leviathan of Wood, transformed by the power of Farore's Ring of Dualty, which rightfully fits upon your finger, Link, and not around mine, as I had tried." He paused before gesturing with a hand. "Please, gentlemen, at ease; away from your shields, and have a seat. I will not attempt to attack you, you have my word."

Somewhat reluctantly, Link and Samba lowered their shield arms to their sides, then sat down at the two nearer stumps. Ruedekul waited for them to be seated before moving to the third stump, which was nearby his flower, lifting his vest tails, and seating himself. He clasped his hands together on his knees. "So." He looked at Samba. "Well, my colorful lizalfos friend, who might you be?" The tone of his voice was polite, gentlemanly, and nonthreatening, yet it wasn't friendly or exactly kind.

Samba nodded. "I'm Samba," he introduced, paw on chest. He raised an eyeridge interestedly and crossed his arms, chest hidden by his buckler, and smirked a little. "So, you're the Leviathan that Link got to fight using only your own material?" he queried.

Ruedekul "nodded" again. "Yes, I am. By the way, Link, that was _quite _embarrassing for me," he added, looking over to him with his eyes; there was more red in Samba's side, the yellow part signifying the general area of his vision. Link couldn't help but smile sheepishly at this. "As powerful as wood is, making a sword from one is never exactly effective; felling such a large beast as I was with one is both amazing and quite humorous, and almost shameful for said beast. But I forgive you; you had no other weapons to use."

Link nodded. "I'm just lucky I survived," he said. He paused for a moment, suddenly feeling bad about a memory from the battle, his mouth faltering to the side somewhat. "...Erm...Sorry about tricking you like that," he apologized quietly and slowly. "It...was all I could think of at that moment."

Ruedekul chuckled, eyes dimming as he "closed" them and leaned forwards a bit, "bowing his head". "I am more embarrassed that I _fell _for such a tactic," he replied, a bit of his laughter in his tone. He sat straight again. "My only defense is that my reasoning was addled in full Leviathan form. But I understand, and you are quite forgiven." He bowed again from his sitting position.

Samba, watching his demeanor, couldn't resist asking facetiously, "When're you going to offer us a cup of tea?" smiling wryly. He grunted and chuckled when Link whapped his forearm against his side (forearm because he expected the buckler block, and I am sure you know just how _very _pleasant it is to ram your elbow forcefully directly onto a very hard surface).

Ruedekul chuckled back, a bit harder. "As soon as I have hot water ready, of course," he replied. "And preferably when I also have proper dishes; using wooden cups and kettles is, while functional, neither exactly the healthiest nor best. Always gives things too bitter a taste." He added this with a displeased voice, "shaking his head" and a hand to gesticulate.

Samba blinked, wondering if he were really joking now or not. Link cleared the short and slightly awkward silence by asking, "You wished to speak with us, Ruedekul?"

Ruedekul sat straight again before "nodding". "Yes, I did," he confirmed. "First, I suppose you might wish to know just what a fully-grown deku such as myself was doing all the way in the Korken Woods, no?" Link and Samba nodded. "Very well. You see, I am actually formerly of the higher social echelon of deku, or I was...It has been quite some time since I was a deku..." He trailed off, "bowing his head" a little.

Link stayed quiet, but Samba, noticing the air of distress from the moving wood, asked softly, "How long?"

Ruedekul was silent for a couple seconds before quietly, seemingly offhandedly answering, "87 years, by my reckoning."

Samba raised his eyeridges at his age and how long it has been. "Well, I don't know much about the deku," he began slowly, getting to his normal cadence as he continued, "but I'm pretty sure that the only really high-ranking members of their society are royalty and their closer servants." He thought for a moment. "Actually, I think I remember hearing my mother mention a recent rumor about their leader completely forbidding any humans—hylian or gerudo—from entering their section of the swamp..."

Ruedekul sighed and sat straight once more. "If you could discover the fate of my kind so far, then please, tell me," he bade quietly. "Hopefully, all that has happened is what has always happened to our society—we have grown. I pray that our growth has not been stunted...although I would not be surprised if it has a little, given my actions." He "nodded" again and continued his story.

"My sins began by my abuse of the power I was given as the owner of one of the largest estates in the swamp—which I also pray is unharmed, because it was so wonderful and beautiful, and if I could now, I would most definitely allow and encourage tours—by ordering my servants to do so much and being quite harsh when they disobey or fail to meet expectations. I also ordered to have the very flooded forest around the estate cut down and reconstructed into buildings for such purposes as entertainment and relaxation...pure luxury as much as could be attained in a place such as that. Thus, I disrespected all three of the Golden Goddesses in one fell swoop...be it the forest or my servants, all I abused were living things." The deku chuckled mirthlessly, tilting his body; they got the impression he might be smirking wryly. "To be the Leviathan of Wood is easier than one might think..."

Link and Samba, after mulling this over for a few seconds, looked at each other, unsure and concerned frowns on their faces. Both knew that they were each thinking about the very things they've created and come to rely upon that were made out of wood—out of plants, living things. Link, who had used plant material far more than Samba had, turned back to Ruedekul and began, "Um, have we..."

Ruedekul "shook his head". "No," he answered. "You have not abused the material and living thing known as wood. You have used it properly, using it for luxury only sparingly, and using it to live your lives far, far more. Think: Would you rather be killed and have your killer just move on, or would you rather die by being eaten, nourishing your killer and helping them live to see another day?" He looked curiously at them, tilting to a side and cupping his "chin" with his hand.

Link and Samba, somewhat disturbed by this (as evident by their eyebrow/-ridge raises), nevertheless thought a moment. "Well, it depends on how the killer acts, but I'd prefer to be eaten, I guess," Samba answered first, shrugging. "It beats being put on display or killed just for fun..."

"I agree," Link nodded.

Ruedekul "nodded" and returned to position. "Of course, there are only certain parts of animals that look good on display, but that is a tangent I should not follow," he added. "But to be useful in death, and thus at least subconsciously respected, brings more calm to one's soul than to not be. I gander that my initial mansion was alright, since everyone appreciated the unique beauty within and without that the wood had been worked into, and appreciated the furniture, and quite appreciated the wooden stilts that supported the structure above the serene, gently-moving water of the flooded forest. It was a bit more extravagant of a home than normal, but it was my home, and all loved it. And to be a true work of art is one of the highest honors one can realize they have postmortem.

"However, my greed would not be satiated...I wanted more. So much more. And thus I abused two sorts of the very thing I am made of in three ways." He placed a hand to his chest, eyes moved to look down. He stayed like that a moment before getting back to normal. "After my estate was filled, I was content for only a single year before I desired more. In addition to the casino, deku scrub spa, shooting range, and personal houseboat, I wanted my own private concert hall that only the highest of deku society could visit that would make me much money. Since I was forbidden to invade upon the land outside of my estate, and my estate was deforested at this point, I was at a loss until I thought, 'Why not wow everyone with my dedication and bring different wood all the way from the Korken Woods in the south?' So I went with a party of servants down to the woods, telling the servants whom I'd left behind that I'd wanted no one to enter the mansion except for upkeep. I do not know of its fate after then.

"When we reached Korken, we were soon constantly trapped within then foiled by the winding confines of the maze-like forest, wandering in circles for lengths of up to three hours before being spit back out where we came in," he described with a slight hint of bitterness.

Link chuckled, smirking wryly. "That's why the Korken Woods have gained the nickname of the Lost Woods," he said amusedly and sympathetically. "As far as we can tell, they are at least nigh-magical."

Ruedekul "nodded". "Yes, well, as far as we could tell, it wasn't magical, just utterly demonic," he stated sourly. "And it was all my own fault, too. I simply could not find enough suitable lumber—I'd wanted the _perfect _trees to act as the comfortable bleachers and thick, strong walls. It was overly-ambitious and stupid, but I'd wanted the concert hall's floor to be the underwater floor of the swamp, and thus needed thickly-placed walls to stave the water! Oh, how utterly _idiotic_ an idea!" He held his head in appall at himself. "To make matters worse, I had heard of a wonderful treasure there in the forest, and was also leading every which way in an attempt to find it for myself. Well," he sighed, dropping his hands to his laps again, "after a week of running the servants ragged, I found it. In the clutches of an old tree's branches, deep within the confines of a perilous part of the woods with a fair amount of flooding (but not really enough to say it was a wetland), but I'd found it. Silly as it sounds, I did something that was actually more common than you might think, and I literally stepped on my servants; I ordered them to form a ladder up the tree while I went up with my tools to retrieve the ring. Sure, it seemed so simple and unimpressive, but I was quite the kleptomaniac. After I had obtained the ring, I came back down and allowed them to come tumbling back down again before examining my find, standing upon a large stump in that circle of old trees. Curious, I went to see if it might fit around my finger...

"As soon as I'd found it could expand to fit, I put it on and held it up, admiring it. Soon, though, I felt the powerful essences within flow through my body, changing me into a massive, sprawling form that rooted to the spot around the stump and sent its woody reaches into the depths of the forest around me. As I felt the unspeakable power seep into me, the glee and horror, I watched my servants flee in fright. Angered, I tried to stop them with my newfound body's powers, but they were too small and quick. I suspect they retreated home...I hope they did...to tell of my fate. But as they ran, I could _feel _them run; I'd become one with the section of woods around my body. I willed the place to grow as I wished, and it quickly did so, creating those thick, gnarled, vine-like branches and dense tree walls, and the unique doors...I remember someone coming in a fair number of years back, exploring the whole place save for my lair, and then making himself at home there, carving a study out of part of one room. But regardless, I willed it to grow as I pleased, expanding the area I and that part of the woods covered, feeding my insatiable greed...all while playing on the rumors of a powerful treasure deep within the Korken Woods.

"Then that Betta came and, smart man, tried to do what many did before: Negotiate. And, on his next visit, after not much more than one night in, he brought me the bag of Bardin's Bargins' money. Link, you'd better appreciate how good of an arguer that man is, because we were at it for the whole time you were there, and likely would have continued for a few hours more had you not interfered. Once you arrived into the forest, I watched and felt, but did nothing to you—I really couldn't. But then you came inside my lair, and the rest of that life, well, is history." He gestured around him. "After dying, I faced a flash of bright, white light, and remembered all that I had done before the light faded and I found myself in front of a statue of my then-former self. I was stunned as to where I was, and what had happened. Then, a voice came to me—a gentle, female voice. I have reason to believe it was a Great Fairy. She informed me of the reason I am here—that I must look over that which I have done, those actions that caused me to become a Leviathan, and be ready to repent, to use the power I still possess over wood, among some other minor things. I then went to this small stand of woods, here, and made my home. I have been living and thinking ever since. Though..." He leaned back to look up at the dim sky. "...the sunlight here leaves something to be desired...but it and the nutrients here are enough." He sat forward again. "That is my story. Did I...perhaps bore you?" he asked, sounding as if he were sure he was.

Link, then Samba shook their heads. "It was a little long, but some people like details," Link said, shrugging up his hands.

"I will admit, it was interesting to hear about deku scrub life," Samba shrugged his shoulders.

Ruedekul "nodded" again. "Now, then...there are two other things that the Great Fairy, or whoever was speaking to me, said," he added after a pause. "One is that, while Here," he gestured all around him, "time moves differently compared to how it moves in the world we left. For everyone from our world, the time outside moves very slowly; while we spend one minute Here, Hyrule spends only a quarter of a minute."

Link and Samba raised their eyebrows/-ridges at this and looked at each other interestedly before looking back. "Could we possibly use this as a way to take a breather from inside a dungeon?" Link asked.

Ruedekul "shook his head". "Sadly, that is not a way the Song of Penitence works," he answered, and their faces fell. "Hopefully, though, the rest of the places you must go to shouldn't be as distracting as Anjoltvrya's dungeon," he reassured them wryly, looking at Anjoltvrya (who smiled sheepishly and put a paw behind her head). "That is the second thing I was told of," he said, facing the swordsmen again. "It's about the Song of Penitence, which I was taught by the Great Fairy and now teach to every Leviathan that arrives, since it has been designated as my duty, being the first Leviathan here already in possession of decent musical talent. While the Leviathans are in their time-transcending 'flash of light phase', I appear and teach them the song. I'm thankful Anjoltvrya has a knack for it, and that her instrument is similar to mine, the xylophone..." (Anjoltvrya looked a bit shy at this, putting her paws behind her back and rocking on her heels...well, the balls of her feet. She made the same swaying motion, at least.) He groaned a laugh, putting his face in his palm. "It took a while to get Krungratrg to learn it, and even so, I doubt he really cares enough to remember it...He looked like he was just giving enough effort for me to leave him alone. I'm going to have to quiz him on it..." He looked up again.

"The Song of Penitence, you see, exists to gather the saved, yet punished, Leviathans when the time has come for their—our—help," he explained. "You see, there is a very good reason we are all still in possession of our power over our materials...a power which we have had all along, yet might have failed to make good use of during our battles with you." (Anjoltvrya's ears perked at this and she raised an eyebrow, half-eying.) "I don't know the exact details, but that time is soon approaching, and when we hear the Song of Penitence reverberate throughout our entire beings, all of us, we are to quickly gather together in the center of Here and play it back together, because though we have more of it, time is still short, and you two—the ones to play the Song when the time comes—will find that every second shall count."

Link and Samba looked attentive as he talked about the Song of Penitence, and when he was finished, they both looked at their own instruments. "How will we know when the time has come?" asked Samba.

"You will," Ruedekul answered simply and firmly. "Is there anything else about the Song of Penitence you wish to know?"

"Why doesn't it work in dungeons?" asked Link.

"Because of the nature of the song's magic. In certain areas, you are unable to reach us, such as inside areas designated as 'dungeons', even though most really aren't. You _can _communicate with one of us inside dungeons, if you want, though, via telepathy; we might be of some assistance. Why _are_ they called 'dungeons'?" he asked, honestly curious. They swore the top curve of one of his crescent eyes raised a little bit as he dimmed the other a touch.

The swordsmen (and Anjoltvrya) shrugged. "It just seems an appropriate place to describe a place designed to be hard to infiltrate, like some sort of high-security prison that makes sure the prisoners can't escape and they can't be broken out, at least not without a lot of effort," Link answered as best as he could. "But really, I don't know why."

"I know 'song' is used to refer to any piece of music in common usage," Samba said, looking thoughtful, "but that the word really refers to sung pieces. Does the Song of Penitence have any lyrics?"

Ruedekul "nodded". "I teach them, as well," he added. "Just in case. It appears to have been more effective with Krungratrg, actually, than teaching him with his instrument...I would sing them, but I'm afraid my voice leaves something to be desired."

"Allow me," Anjoltvrya offered, stepping forward. They turned to look at her and she closed her eyes, clearing her throat. She stood still a moment before taking a breath and singing slowly and mournfully in her smooth alto voice:

_I have sinned many years this day_

_ My heart feels as if gone away_

_ Condemned now am I_

_ Must I repent until I die?_

When she was finished, she opened her eyes again, unable to smile, even faintly. Link and Samba could feel why; the way she sang, with such gentle power and soul, combined with the melancholy melody and dreary lyrics to produce a very sobering effect. She looked as if she were trying hard not to cry, even a little. "I have a feeling there are more, since there is more to the song than what I taught you, as well; as if there is a verse to come after and that was simply the chorus," she informed.

"There is," Ruedekul confirmed. "When I think there are enough of us willing to sing it, I shall teach it. Link, Samba," he addressed, and the swordsmen turned back to him. "Is there anything more to ask about the Song?"

"Not that I can think of," Link shrugged.

"Yasyas," Samba agreed, nodding. Everyone looked at him blankly, so he blushed and explained, "Lizalfos expression that basically means, 'Same here,' or, 'Me, too.'"

"Like 'ditto'," guessed Link.

"Yas, like that, but I guess it's becoming habitual to shift to my native tongue since I'm using more Lizalfos with you," supposed Samba. 'Come to think of it, if the Rings translate Lizalfos for him, why don't they translate things like that for him? Maybe the multiple meanings...?'

"Regardless, it has been a pleasant time with you, gentlemen," Ruedekul said, rising and dusting himself off gently. "Now, if you would kindly visit Krungratrg, he would like to speak with you, as well. You are welcome to return to this stand of trees anytime you desire, though I might be elsewhere, depending." He bowed. "Good-day, sirs."

Link and Samba rose and, after a little pause, bowed back. "Good-day, Ruedekul," Link bade back.

"Come on, I can take you to see Krungratrg," Anjoltvrya said, beckoning as she turned. She waved, smiling her faint smile, at the deku scrub. "Bye, Ruedekul!"

"Good-day, m'lady," bowed Ruedekul as they left. They saw him turn around and re-enter his deku flower.

"He's like a butler," Samba compared, raising an eyeridge.

"Nothing like the guy I fought," Link commented, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm willing to bet he was hit pretty hard by this whole thing, given that he's one of the 'higher' folks," Anjoltvrya conjectured, raising a paw.

"That's right, you were a normal mountain lioness before this, weren't you?" asked Samba.

Anjoltvrya planed a paw, giving a "sorta" sort of expression with her mouth by slanting it. "Most of my life, yes, but then I happened upon the Rose Hammer whilst hunting on Death Mountain, around the other side—the one facing Death Valley. I'd felt some pulses of something, which I later realized was power, coming from a heap of iron ore chunks inside a cave that was hard to reach and you wouldn't know it was there until either you'd somehow fallen into its small entrance hole or you were looking straight at it." She chuckled wryly. "Being what I am, I gave into my curiosity, crawled in, and pawed through the pile until I found it, hidden from all the world on the mountain amidst the very material it represented. I experimentally bit it."

"It hurt, didn't it?" asked Samba, chuckling as they left the last of the trees behind them. Anjoltvrya pointed towards an end of the island before walking off. (Link had taken the time during the walk to whip out the map of Here to mark where Ruedekul was...just to find that it magically was already on it. As well, their current position appeared on the map as the familiar yellow arrows. Again, he suspected the Rings at work.) "I remember when I was little, I bit a piece of thin sheet metal out of curiosity. When my molars set on it, I yelped and spat it out."

"You did that, too?" Link asked, chuckling and smiling.

"Yeah! I bet it hurt more for you, though, since you...omnivores have got more molars," Samba smiled back, raising an eyeridge, after pausing a moment to remember the technical word. He looked at Anjoltvrya again. "Sorry, go on."

Anjoltvrya giggled at this, though, making Samba, for some reason he couldn't fathom, blush. "No, it's okay, it's cute to see you two relate over a childhood experience," she said. "But, yeah, it hurt, but more than just pain hit me—I felt my whole body change shape and fill with such _power..._Thinking about that rush still gives me frightful chills up my spine. Knowing I still have a fair amount of it is even more frightful to know. But when the pain was finally over, I was left with a hammer in my mouth, large (to me) breasts on my chest, and opposable thumbs on my front paws, as well as longer hind legs and shorter hind paws. That, and I could feel there was a considerable amount more to my head, not to mention my hair (which was shorter then; I grew it out). And I realized that I could now form words with my mouth the way I remembered hearing and seeing humans and gorons form them. With all this new information, you can probably guess I was extremely confused and bewildered," she added with a chuckle. This was met with chuckles back.

"After grabbing the hammer out of my mouth and crawling out of the cave, I realized a few things—one of which was that, since I was to walk on my hind legs like a human, I'd better dress a bit like one, too. Another was that I was being filled with a power...a dangerous one, my instincts all told me, but with my newly-acquired enhanced brain functions came a heightened sense of desire. Really, you smarties are wonderful creatures, but SHEESH, are you needy..." She rolled her eyes semi-sarcastically. "Now, after I was able to figure out how to at least put the hammer away into some other-space—I was too afraid to use it, and I wasn't sure I knew how—I went down to the base of the mountain and went until I came across a troupe of traveling performers. I waited until nightfall before raiding their clothesline for something that fit my body that I felt comfortable in." She motioned down to her outfit. "The sturdy overalls made of denim, here, fit and I felt secure and comfortable at the same time. The shirt I grabbed because I wanted a bit more over my upper area after (making me nearly jump outta my fur) hearing one of the female performers slap a guy and accuse him of coming to look at her chest. I also got it because I appreciated the fact I could now see in quite vivid color, as well."

"You were colorblind?" asked Samba and Link at the same time, Link with more surprise than Samba.

Anjoltvrya nodded, smiling. "Practically—like many cats, actually," she replied. "We've got horrible color vision, sadly. This world is so _beautiful_ in color..." She swooped her arms around, spinning a circle. "While us kitties are probably the coolest creatures on the face of the planet, we're missing out on a LOT."

"You ARE vain!" Samba shouted in laughing surprise, pointing at her. "Ha-! I thought it was just a legend, but you cats ARE full of yourselves, aren't you?"

Anjoltvrya sighed, shrugging helplessly. "Yep, guilty as charged," she confessed. "It's evolutionary, I'm sure. We're all a bit vain."

"Well, Blanca, the cat back home, always seemed pretty aloof," Link commented thoughtfully.

The lioness shrugged again. "Just be happy I'm not as vain as SOME cats out there, not naming names..." She pinned her ears and looked to the side, frowning unhappily. She perked up again and continued. "After getting clothes, I soon started exploring my new abilities. Like the idiot I am, I started abusing the power I had over metal by becoming the ruler of the mechanoids. I attacked travelers using them, strike one for me—Farore. Maybe strike two, Din, as well, but that one at least definitely came later. Then, instead of doing it for food, I attacked people for the heck of it—as in, more than my feline nature wanted to. That's strike two, as far as I'm sure, this being Nayru. Finally, after a particularly badly failed ambush, I desired a stronger body. Since I couldn't just buff myself up, I realized I needed to change myself somehow. Looking at armor made me think about ghosts inhabiting suits of armor sometimes (which is quite annoying, and it usually takes a Metal Ramrock to blow the pieces far enough away that it can't reform before we escape), and I wondered if I could have an armor body, too. So I tried to steal metal to make it using my powers. Using metal for something totally excessive—strike three, Din, and I'm out of the game. And remember, just seriously wanting to and willing to do it will get you a strike.

"Well, at least I got my wish—though I became feral again, 'cept I kept my brain and I got a half more as big as any other mountain lion I'd ever seen, and my body became sorta mechanical—those metal parts around me you saw when I crawled out of my suit. The mechanoids around me became my huge suit's core and head, and the others became the other parts of me, though detached. I was still kinda incomplete—I needed more power to pull myself together. I knew that where there was more of this wonderful thing called metal around me, my powers grew stronger, so we made for the foundry." Her faint smile all but vanished as she bowed her head. "We assaulted the factory, but in my weaker state, I couldn't do much, but I could still bwast 'em, and I did. I tore that ravine in Pouring wider by trying to dump their own molten metal on them..." She widened her eyes at them, looking out the corners of her eyes. "...but, _damn_, those things are scarier than ANY Leviathan you'll ever face, because those guys didn't mind the stuff at ALL..."

She shook her head and narrowed her eyes to normal, then to melancholic as her expression returned. "They slammed me into Ventilation, which was the most-advanced room in the whole place and ran off of motors powered by moving hot air generated from pits over molten lava...a room that was also special to them culturally. That Triforce is there for a reason. They say that's where one of them met the spirit of Din ages ago, in the cave the ventilation room was built in. But I stayed in there, and it was only a matter of time before I joined together with my parts and felt myself become one with the foundry. I took control and forced them to make more upgrades for me and more mechanoids and more and more and more..." She sighed and shook her head. "I'm disgusted with myself. I was practically forcing them to bring me jewels and gems, like some super-pompous aristocrat...Thank you guys so much for knocking some sense into me." She smiled at them a little more than faintly, nodding slowly.

They smiled and nodded back sympathetically. (As well, they appreciated it being shorter than Ruedekul's story, along with the explanation as to why Ventilation was so high-tech if it wasn't entered for a long time.)

Anjoltvrya looked around them. They were descending a gentle slope to the end of the island, where the ground had been getting barer, the grass thinning out to make way for hard stone. The ocean's sounds came again to their ears as they crashed onto the rocky shore. A cliff began on their right ahead of them while the rest of the stone ground went down. "Along that cliff is where Krungratrg is, if I remember what Rue told me correctly after he finished teaching me the Song," Anjoltvrya pointed.

They nodded to show they heard. Then Link asked, "What do _you_ know about Here?"

Anjoltvrya shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "Not much, I'm afraid," she confessed. "Not much more than Ruedekul, at least. The only thing I was told extra on the way here by that voice he mentioned is that areas sort of appear when new Leviathans show up, places where they can live. For instance, my place is probably somewhere with lots of ore or something. I haven't had time to look for it, since I was waiting for you guys." Their feet touched the sand, and Samba looked down as he felt the sensation of the grains under and around his footpaws, sifting dryly between his toes and scratching against his talons' tips.

They took a right around the cliff that rose up, heading towards a large cave with a distinctive entryway—an eroded stone arch poked one end from the sand and one end from the water a few feet from shore, being off-center to the cave entrance. Within, they saw a few lights. They all three raised their eyebrows/-ridges when they saw that these lights appeared to be large crystals of some luminescent variety of quartz. The cave curved a descending, twenty-foot-high tunnel into the mainland until they found themselves in a grand, spherical cavern full of those crystals, with one enormous one sticking down from the ceiling. Three smaller, but larger than the normal size, crystals came out in a generously-spaced, 30-degree-angle line that went from a few feet off the floor to beneath an opening about 8 feet around. A pile of random-looking rocks and boulders was at the floor below it, signifying that it might have been blown open from the other side. A path further inland continued through there, winding out of sight. They didn't see anyone there.

Samba grew suspicious, looking around. "He was a wall when I found him, so he might still be," he grumbled, frowning cautiously as they stepped to the center of the level-floored chamber. His voice echoed nicely in the room.

"Well, maybe, maybe not," Anjoltvrya shrugged, looking around. She looked up at the opening, raising an eyebrow.

A moment later, Link commented a bit louder than normal on the crystals, "Wow. Nice rocks." No sooner had he said this than a rumble was felt and a grinding was heard. It came from the tunnel they had entered from, and they looked. Soon, they saw a large shape barreling down it like a giant boulder. They all ran out of the way just in time. It whooshed past them, heading straight for a spot on the wall where, oddly, the crystals were crushed, the light dimmer there. With a CRASH!, the boulder slammed into it and bounced back a bit. It rolled to the center of the room slowly and stopped as the vibration from the impact stopped running through everyone's bodies.

Link was on one side of the room, and Samba and Anjoltvrya were on the other, all breathing a bit heavily. Before any could comment, a deep, loud chuckle came from the boulder, muffled, followed by what sounded like, "Thanks! Gotta keep 'em hidden, though, sadly!" The boulder then unfolded itself (as Link smacked his forehead at how his comment had been so easily made vulgar).

They were expecting a goron. They were only half-expecting an armadillo. It actually being only partially-curled to create the perfect sphere it had been was a bit of a surprise, though. It unfolded itself, having stopped in its back, tail covering the belly that had contributed at least a quarter of the ball. It rested its legs, arms, and head on the floor with a grunting sigh before looking left and right, smirking, then, lifting slightly to get a good roll backwards, executing the most surprising thing of all—the handspringing, foot-kicking, high-dexterity-needing move of martial arts fame known as the kip-up. And it did it _high_, adding a spin, as well, to land on its feet with another bone-shaking slam a few feet from the opposite wall. "HAH! Betcha didn't think I could do THAT, now, DIDja?" it crowed, putting its hands on its hips and smirking down.

The three walked together, staring up at the creature. "Krungratrg...?" Samba asked, amazed and frightened that such a gigantic, girthy beast could do that.

"In the not-rock flesh!" Another chuckle. Krungratrg the giant armadillo was about 8 and a half feet tall and stood nearly erect on his feet, not bending forward to compensate for the weight of his back very much; this was probably because of the aforementioned impressive belly acting as a counterweight, somewhat disturbingly enough. (It was large, but not really all that large.) As a result, his back only came up behind his head halfway. His height and girth weren't the only things that made him huge—all four of his paws were large with strong, thick, black-clawed digits (four up, three down); his head was larger than they thought a walking armadillo's head should be, bearing an unusually large jaw; his chest, strangely unaffected by the round gut, was wide and pronounced, a little bit of extra fur coming from the collarbone hanging halfway down the cleft of the pectorals; and his well-defined muscles made his arms and legs just shy of healthy tree trunk thickness. His natural colors consisted of a medium brown face-to-belly area, a darker brown rest-of-body area, and light brown shell and rat-like segmented tail areas, with flecks of grey here and there on the shell. It appeared he had short fur, covering the body where the shell did not. A few small plates of shell ran across his snout and between his large grey eyes. Long, messy grey hair grew from his head, strangely, some areas brown. They noticed he actually wore rather feminine jewelry, being a pair of small, prism-shaped (but rounded in the ear part) hoop earrings seemingly carved from quartz, judging by the way they reflected the light, on his long ears, and on his middle finger of his right paw was a beautiful diamond ring. He wore a pair of tattered, fingerless, slate blue gloves, and he was barepaw. Around his calves and forearms were dark grey bandannas wrapped into bands with the knots on the outer sides. His front drooped down over his pelvis, but they could see he wore a kilt-like loincloth of the same kind of fabric as the gloves that had slits cut for his legs and tail. It was held up by a light grey belt, buckle hidden by his body. Finally, around his thick neck was a collar carved out of pink granite with simply an engraved line a fifth from each edge.

He gave a wide, wide grin to them, eyes completely open. This made him look rather unstable. What made it all the stranger was his perfectly white, sharp teeth. "Sooooo...How d'you do?" he asked in a half-hiss, bringing his bald eyebrows over his eyes without dropping the smile. His voice was a deep bass, and even this hiss was felt _very_ slightly.

Samba blinked a bit before starting right off, "You're...still insane, aren't you."

Krungratrg looked over at him with a raised brow, mouth closing into a small thoughtful pout, before snorting and squeezing his eyes shut and pulling his mouth up to an even bigger smile than before as he shook his bowing head, laughing through his nose. "WhatEVER gave you that idea, hmmm?" he asked sarcastically, opening one eye to look down at him.

Link and Anjoltvrya couldn't help their nervous chuckles as Samba crossed his arms and smiled wryly at his old adversary. "Oh, I dunno; the erratic speech and actions, probably," the lizalfos shrugged.

Krungratrg shook his head and nose-laughed again before looking at them again, mouth shut in his smile this time. He actually looked friendly. "Yeah, I'm still crazy," he sighed, nodding, voice relatively level for once, "and I'm still adoring each second of it." He sniggered before leaning down to get a better look at them, raising an eyebrow, looking at each in turn. "Alright, I know you, Blue Boy, and you're probably that kitten that fell outta her cast-iron tree a little while ago, but who're _you_, Greenie?" He (surprisingly very gently and carefully) prodded Link in the chest with the meaty tip of his finger when he asked his question.

Link grunted in surprise at first the prod, then the force, before looking up, a little confused as to what he should think of this guy, and replying, "Link..."

"And I'm Anjoltvrya," Anjoltvrya introduced, paw to chest as she blinked at him. She smirked and raised the other eyebrow, crossing her arms, and added, "And you're probably gonna be the most interesting, annoying guy I'll ever meet, won't you, you big ol' piece of work?"

Krungratrg lowered himself to look fully, closely, in her face, half-eyeing with his big smile. "Damn right, Anjy-kitten," he replied in his half-hiss. Anjoltvrya just twitched her other eyebrow a moment. Krungratrg turned to Samba, looking him up and down. "Well, Blue Boy, aren't _you_ your little sis' knight in shining armor?" he chortled, eyebrow raised.

Samba gave a serious frown to this. "Since you actually _can_ now, I'd like you to apologize for that whole mess with my friends and family," he said darkly.

Krungratrg blinked, surprised for a second, before sniggering. "Yeah, sorry, sorry; I plead _insane_." His head bowed down to cast his face in shadow, eyes still bright, as he drew out that last hissed word. Samba wasn't amused, but he made no facial reaction or comment until he drew his head back again.

"Thank you," Samba nodded. He let out an exasperated sigh and shrugged helplessly. "Yeah, you're still gonna be a pain in the tail, aren't you?" He looked at Anjoltvrya and said, "Have fun with that."

"Thanks," Anjoltvrya replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"You have anything you wanted to tell us?" Link asked, trying to get things on track again.

Krungratrg snickered and nodded wildly. "Oh, yaaaah, lots-a stuff," he answered. He looked back at Samba, standing up straight again. "But first, say, Samba, what do you think, huh?" He raised his arms and twisted himself around once both ways, letting them get a good view of his shell-covered back. His shell was mostly made of a number of stripes in the middle, but the top and bottom fourths were made of near-solid plates. I say near-solid because there were splits in certain places to allow his body to move freely: His shoulder blades on top, and on bottom, his hindquarters (while standing) and a place for his broad, somewhat lengthy tail to come out. If he'd rolled up as he had before, the seams would have been put together again, and almost hidden entirely unless one looked closely. While rough and dirty, the armor-like plates looked to be in very good condition. "I was an ordinary armadillo before finding that ring and becoming the Leviathan, so this _great_ body is one of my favorite things ever, now," he explained after they'd gotten a few seconds to look, chuckling at the memory and crossing his arms. He smirked and chuckled a little more before backing up to the wall and beckoning. "C'mere, kids, it's storytime with Uncle Krungle! A-hah-hah!" He sat down, revealing his rear slid down past the plates to allow him the ability to sit on pliable flesh instead of unyielding natural armor. He sat cross-legged, belly mostly cupped inside but sticking out just a smidgen. It seemed very thick and rubbery, though since he was the Leviathan of the dense material Stone, this wasn't that surprising. (This also explained how something actually so relatively small (it was big, but not THAT huge) could counterbalance something so big as his shell, which, when they got close enough to look, ranged from one to four inches thick of dense organic matter.)

They looked at each other, wearing uncertain faces. "Well, sorry to say, if he tries to hurt us, we're sunk," Samba admitted, holding his paws up. "Truth be told, if we'd fought anywhere else, chances are I'd be dead. It's only because of those red rocks I defeated him."

"Well, um, I'd say we have the advantage of speed, but judging by that stunt earlier..." Link trailed off, glancing at him nervously.

Anjoltvrya sighed, bowing her head. "If all else fails, I can summon metal walls to protect us temporarily," she said. She looked up again and beckoned. "C'mon, I wanna get to know this guy and he wanted to talk to you, anyway." She turned to Krungratrg and called, "Hey, Krunge! What about some seats, huh? We can't _all_ fit on your morbid obesity, you're not _that_ fat!"

"I'm _not?_ Awww, daaaamn!" Krungratrg snapped his claws, looking and sounding genuinely disappointed (which further disturbed them), but he pointed his snout to the pile of boulders before the opening high in the wall and finally fully dropped his smile. Replacing it was a glare with a terrible, merciless frown. "_OI!_" he barked. He pointed. "You there! And your little pal, too!" He pointed again. "Over here, _NOW!_"

Without a second's delay, the two larger, oblongish boulders he'd pointed to rolled off the pile and, almost looking like they were in a panic (they even looked to be emitting plewds, but they were only bits of dirt and chips of stone), barreled over to stop in places in front of him where one could sit and see his face well, resting on their most-stable broad sides. Krungratrg growled, putting fists on his hips. "And just _what_ do you think you're doing?" he demanded harshly. "Coming here when you very well know you look like _that?_" With rage on his face, the plates on his snout folding up into a slight zigzag as he snarled, he leaned over, took a breath, and—suddenly looked at the others with a plain expression, warning calmly, "You might wanna stand back." Then, just as quickly, his scary face returned as he whipped to look at the boulders again and barked, _"MAKE YOURSELVES SITTABLE!"_

With a sound akin to scraping with a lot of large-grained sandpaper, the rocks suddenly filed their tops down, spraying grains of sand everywhere, almost getting into Link's and Samba's eyes and noses if Anjoltvrya, who had immediately taken the advice and taken a few large steps back, hadn't leaned over, grabbed their shirt collars, and pulled them back to stand beside her. Though it was always in her warm paw, Samba, the one on her right, felt her wrench press coldly against his scales. In a few moments, the two boulders' tops stopped sanding themselves, being much smoother, the points, edges, and uncomfortable lumps filed down, and a unique, earthy smell hung in the air. They were now, indeed, sittable.

Krungratrg, arms folded over his chest, leaned his head back, gazing angrily with scrutiny down at them a moment, before snorting and nodding, leaning back. "Good. Thank you." He then suddenly broke out in a fit of giggles after hissing through a grin and turning his head away. When this subsided, he uncrossed his arms, resting one at the beginning of his gut before it slid off and beckoning with the other. "Come on, then," he said, that friendly-looking face on again.

They looked at each other, shrugged, then went over. Anjoltvrya chuckled, shaking her head. "Me and my big mouth," she muttered. "I said he couldn't fit all of us, and now here he is, ensuring he can fit at least ONE of us..." She patted the boys' shoulders comfortingly. "I'll do it, it's my fault; you guys sit on your chairs...wait until they've cooled from the friction, first, though," she added, making them stop right after turning to their rocks, pointing at the rough-sanded surfaces. She then nimbly jumped onto Krungratrg's stomach, confirming instantly its thickness by bouncing two inches despite her exact, feline-calculated leap. She couldn't help but giggle at this before sitting cross-legged. Link and Samba just sat on their boulders.

Krungratrg looked smugly at his fellow Leviathan. "You asked for it," he reminded her in a sort of sing-song way. He then cleared his throat into his fist before lacing his claws and leaning back, whipping a wave down his side-swept tail. "_WELL_, now, since we're all here, let's begin, shall we?" he asked briskly...of course, smiling.

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS – OPTIONAL READING

I'd rather not interrupt this, but...well, 20 pages already. Ruedekul took way too long, both to come up with and in his story. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with his character yet. Same with Krungratrg, though I like him better (crazy people are always fun to write); I'm afraid I'm going to get into the "jolly obese guy" characterization I've fallen into with just about every single significantly overweight male character I've made. I'm also afraid (a bit more) that I'll overcompensate his size—he's only 8.5 feet tall, that's nothing compared to some of those other characters I mentioned—and make him seem bigger than he is. (As well, I don't want his gut to be too large, either. Saved my booty with the density thing, there.)

Again, I'm a sucker for description. Blame my writing being influenced by anime and manga, where there's so much to see in the unique environments...and not my inability to say what I want in just a few words instead of a lot. And my love for compound sentences.

Next time, we'll start something I've been doing in my other fanfiction, Kingdom Hearts: Puzzle of Truth: Omakes. They'll be different in that they're going to be all about these guys, the Leviathans. Come on—a gentleman, a tomboy, and a nutjob...living together on an island with nobody else...Tell me that hilarity wouldn't ensue. (In fact, this sounds like it'd make a cute webstrip...)

PS: If you thought back to Mokuba going, "BIG BROTHERR!" during the wrap-up to the dungeon, I do NOT blame you. (Unless you're not currently hyper or otherwise in an at least slightly altered state.) CURSE YOU, CAAAAT! *shakes fist*

PPS: I realized only now that I've been saying "bokoblin" when I really mean "bulblin". WHOOPS. o.o;


	18. Two Days, Two Jgk'hry Dawns

"First off, the obligatory sob story," Krungratrg began. He sighed and looked bored as he looked up with his eyes and slowly bobbed his head from side to side as he spoke. "I was an everyday arma_dillo_ when I found my way into some guard's _bag_, and woke up in the Empty _Cavern_...I got _scared_, started running _around_, found my way to the _center_, and saw the shiny _ring_, so I put it _on..._" He leaned to the side, put his elbow against a large crystal, and rested his face in it, smooshing it a bit, and looked half-eyed down at them. "*sigh* Yeah, long, sorry, trying to _curtail_ it, I think's the word...ANYway, turned into that rock monster thing, felt the power welling inside me take hold, lost my mind (yay!), got really hungry, found that I ate rock now, and just went for it and became a wall." He gesticulated with the other paw while he talked this way (he spun a fist as if waving a flag when he gave a tiny, squeaky cheer that startled them).

He yawned. "Shit, this is boring..." he exaggerated, mumbling. He scratched his chest before continuing. "So, yeah, I was connected to the entire cavern, and I could suck people up if they leaned against the walls while so scared they'd probably pee on themselves, emotional thing or whatever...But _yyeaaaaaahh, _did that boring gig for a few decades. I kinda got bored and ordered people to build some pointless stuff in the place, like those platforms...Those actually tickled a little when they were used, made me giggle," he smirked, raising an eyebrow in remembrance and holding his chin. "AS I WAS saying...I let them all try and explore the place and stuff until I got hungry and made tiny stalagmites rise up and poke some monsters in the butt enough that they'd run off of a ledge and into my belly. Yeah, those bottomless pits in dungeons with Leviathans?" He raised an eyebrow, then twisted a planed paw to emphasize. "TOTALLY orifices leading to the mouth. Tasty. You probably didn't notice, but I think I had some helmasaur helmet stuck in my teeth when you fought me, Blue Boy."

"It's 'Samba', please," Samba grunted, nonplussed.

"Samba. _Gotcha_, amigo," Krungratrg pistol-pointed at him, smirking. He leaned over, resting his arms on his stomach (pushing up Anjoltvrya) and resting his head on both of those, looking at Samba with a relaxed, grinning face. "SO, speaking of you, somethin' to tell ya 'bout your chief:" He hissed, _"He's more nuts than I am,"_ then spoke normally again. "And that's saying somethin'."

"Correction: He _was_ nuts," Samba said, holding a claw up, smiling faintly. "I...kinda made sure of that..."

Krungratrg looked stunned. "...You _offed_ your own _leader?_" he asked, impressed. He grinned evilly and clapped. "Bravo! Didn't think you had it in ya, Blue B—Samba!"

Samba quickly stood up, went to him, reached over and activated Volt Claw as he rapped a claw on Krungratrg's muzzle, which caused a loud _SNAP_ of a large spark that made him yelp and whip back, whining like a dog as he covered his snout, looking pitiful. Samba looked very unamused as he crossed his arms. "I thought I had for a bit, which was one of the biggest scares of my life, but thankfully, he survived," he said flatly. "Don't kid around with me like that, and don't say it anyway if you're serious."

Krungratrg crossed his eyes and uncovered his nose to examine the damage (just a few singed hairs), then raised an eyebrow warily at Samba. "Alright, alright, sorry...sheesh..." He shook his head and smiled again, leaning back and resting his arms on either side on crystals while Samba sat back down. "(Love these gorgeous lil' things!) Anyway, the guy came in and called out to me directly, and so I make my mug in the floor and snap at his footpaw (which misses, plucky jerk) and ask what he wants, and he says he wants me to take control of this guy who sounds like a total roider when he finally gets here. A couple weeks later, in he comes, the hugest lizalfos I'd ever seen—'Ya, TOTAL roider,' I said to myself—and he doesn't even make it past the foyer before turning chicken and leaning against the wall, then I grab 'im and do what the guy says, control 'im. It was fun at the time, but...um..."

He suddenly faltered, looking carefully at Samba (sucking in his stomach, which made Anjoltvrya nearly fall off before she grabbed onto his pectoral, so he was out of immediate reach of Volt Claw), and frowned, actually apologetic for once. He spoke in a small voice. "Truth be told, now that I'm actually sane enough to actually think clearly when I want to—which isn't often because thinking clearly isn't that fun—looking back on how much pain I caused sticking those stones on him and trapping him in that room, I feel bad."

The others blinked for a moment before smiling, Samba more than Link, Anjoltvrya more than Samba. "And here I was thinking you weren't gonna be very penitent," Anjoltvrya said.

Krungratrg chuckled. "Hey, I'm crazy and willful, not stupid," he told Anjoltvrya, putting a paw on his hip and tilting his head, giving an eyebrow raise. He sighed and looked back at Samba. "DIGRESSION OVER, the next day or something, or really the next night, his family and your little sister came in," he continued, voice normal (for him) again as he rested his arms on the crystals once more. "I played a trick on 'em and called 'em into my lair, saying that's where he was. They didn't buy it, though, so I had to pull somethin' fancy, so I vibrated the stones the same way the roider's voice went and made it sound like he was saying he was there, and in a world of pain. I blocked the entrance with those stalagmites so they couldn't escape, and I even opened the doors for 'em. Squeezing stone to keep those things in place like I had to ain't easy, either. They came, though, and I was about to eat 'em when your little sister, cute girl, started putting up a fight, and the other girls started to, too." He scoffed a laugh and raised an eyebrow, palms opening. "Honest! Girls are scary-crazy! I was bombardin' 'em with all I had, stuck in that wall, there, and they weren't budging! I was getting annoyed by them feeding me my own spit...rocks, of course...and so I just used my power and made a wave of rock shove 'em in, where I imprisoned 'em to have later when they'd finally dropped from exhaustion.

"You weren't too far away from 'em, actually; you came in only a couple hours after they did, and that was after their fifteen minutes' waiting in the foyer, fifteen minutes' fighting for their lives. It really was actually fun to see you going through me. Especially the boulder!" He laughed boisterously, sending Anjoltvrya for a ride (she hugged his chest for dear life while her body was bounced up by his shaking belly). "OH, that was FUNNY! Best part is, I could show my prisoners what was going on when I wanted, and I heard a teeny-tiny stifled laugh from your sister when she saw your face after the boulder started rolling down the stairs again." He grinned at Samba. "So it wasn't THAT bad for everyone. Just, um, tip: If you're running from a boulder, YOU DON'T STOP UNTIL YOU CAN GET OUT OF THE WAY." He gave this advice flatly with a broad smile on his lips.

At this, Samba blushed while Link and Anjoltvrya snickered at him behind hand and paw. "Sorry, Samba, but...it's kinda common sense," Link apologized.

"It's the way he said it," corrected Anjoltvrya.

Samba still blushed and muttered, "Well, I _thought _it had stopped, and I was getting tired, so..."

Krungratrg chuckled, leaned over, and slapped Samba on the back with just the right amount of force to send him flailing, balancing on his footpaws at the point of falling onto his muzzle and falling back. "Sorry, Samba, I couldn't resist," he apologized, leaning back to his resting position, smirking. "ANYHOW, you kicked my rocky ass, true, but do you realize how GOOD that battle felt?" he asked. He looked up in memory as he described it. "It was like...like each time I reformed with that pile, I felt like I'd just eaten the best food in the world...but I was getting hungrier...and then I couldn't take it, so I ate the whole damn room and all around, using my power to remodel the whole dungeon so that all of the stone within was my body...It felt soooo _gooooooooood_..." He sighed. "Of course, I did this in the past many times when my hunger just got too much...then I would get so big, I'd collapse onto myself and the spell'd break and all'd go back to normal. But I was _full_, more than I'd ever felt in my life of scrounging for bugs and scraps and groaning in agony as it felt like my stomach was crumpling in on itself, whithering..." He looked quietly thoughtful for a moment. "...I...I guess...I suppose I was just having revenge on the world for starving me..." he mumbled so quietly, they felt it more than heard it.

He shrugged and looked back down after a moment of silent contemplation. His smile was back on his face, though it soon broke into a grin. "THAT ASIDE, it was a really fun fight, and I loved and hated every minute of it, Samba!" he declared happily. "I've never wanted to hug and crush someone at the same time so much in my life!" He chuckled and shook his head. "After that, I came here. After an agonizingly long ten minutes where Ruedekul tried to teach me the Song of Penitence, that chick the Great Fairy told me some stuff about this place that apparently only I got told. I suppose you guys want in?"

"That'd be great, at least," Anjoltvrya nodded, smiling hopefully. "I got told, like, _nuttin_'."

Krungratrg went, "Awwww!" before laughing. "Heh, you're not special enough...YYY_YIPE! _I KID, I KID!" He started to squeak and duck behind his arms when Anjoltvrya, seething, stood and extended her wrench to an absurdly long and thick one that she swung down at him. He caught it barely, grunting at the strain of the tool's weight and Leviathan's applied pressure. "DAMN, kitten, how the HELL aren't you a roider if you can swing this thing like nothing?" he asked shakily, the fact that someone as strong as him was struggling to bear the weight shaking him.

_"Because I'm special,"_ hissed Anjoltvrya, giving him a withering look.

"OKAY! I WAS JUST JOKING! YOU CAN STOP NOW!" he squeaked. The wrench suddenly grew thicker and heavier, and he squawked at the sudden increase in weight before he pushed with all his might, veins bulging on his arms as he strained. "Goddesses, please...I'm sorry...!"

And it was gone.

He blinked and looked down to see Anjoltvrya, tail still wildly lashing with anger, reseating herself, looking at him with her eyes. Link and Samba watched with wide eyes before they joined Krungratrg in blinking stupidly. Then, the Leviathan of Stone said quietly, "You know, women are the scariest things on the face of the planet—you know that, right?"

Anjoltvrya just gave a feline smile. "Please continue, Krungratrg," she said kindly.

Krungratrg started before nodding vigorously, leaning back and clearing his throat. "*AHEM!* YES, yes, um—*er-HEM!*—ah, were was I? OH! YES! The stuff Great Lady told me! *'HERM!*" He took a breath before nodding briskly and going on (moving his arms back to their crystals). "She told me a couple things about Here. One, she said something kinda vague that, after I looked around a bit, I decided to interpret as being 'Here is a purgatory for the Leviathans of Material'. She, more-clearly, told me that Here is really nowhere. Like that makes sense..." He looked to the side.

"_Tell_ me about it," Samba rolled his eyes, making Anjoltvrya laugh.

Krungratrg smiled proudly and thumbed his chest on the fur tuft. "I've actually taken to looking around here, since ol' Woody prefers to stick around in his forest," he said proudly, "so I found out some stuff about the place on my own. It's really just stuff pertaining to living here, but it's still important." He lowered his paw again, but kept smiling. "The ocean's got as much delicious, _huge_ fish as we could want if you'd just go out on a raft (I had to ask Ruedekul to make one for me, which took a while, given my weight) with a long tail that looks like a big, juicy worm." He rippled his tail. "For drinking water, I found it's not a good idea to drink seawater, which tastes terrible, anyway, and so there's a few gushing springs underground. The main tunnel system starts on the cliff opposite this one," he pointed in the general direction. "We should probably dig a well or something to make life easier. Now that we've got wood, metal, and stone together, all we'd need to do is dig, then make a well. We'll use a chain for a rope—besides, chains are cooler," he added, shrugging nonchalantly.

"YOU _BET_ THEY ARE!" whooped Anjoltvrya enthusiastically, pumping a fist up. Link and Samba chuckled.

"(Well, now we know what _some—_Er, nevermind...) And the best thing about life here is..." Krungratrg paused, smiling mischievously, and waited a few seconds before announcing, "_Ab_solutely _NOTHING!_ That's right, there's jack diddly squat to do around here!" He sighed, smiling sadly. "Only thing there is to do is eat, drink, and talk to each other. And, _boy_, is Ruedekul boring to talk to."

Link and Samba looked sympathetically at him, smiling back. "I was kind of afraid of that," Link said. "From the way he talked, I mean..."

Krungratrg shrugged. "Meh." He smiled teasingly and eyed the swordsmen. "But with all this boredom, one can only go back to memories and exploring themselves and what their bodies—particularly new ones—can do," he said a bit quieter, holding a finger and shaking it a little. "For instance for the body thing, it took a while for me to figure out that flip-kick-fancy-thingy-thing, but it was worth it. For instance for the memories thing, though, I thought back to the dungeon, and I realized there was still stuff left to do. Plus, I realized I can connect back with Hyrule's stone, kinda. Or at least it tells me stuff. And I care about what I find out, and it bothers me a bit. Since I'm sure Ruedy's done some of the same stuff I have, and I'm sure Anjy-kitten here's gonna, too—trust me, you can't spend _all_ your life thinking about what you've done wrong and pledging to live better when there's no real opportunity to _show _it to people—you guys might wanna stop by once in a while and talk to us. We might just have a few things we can reward you for."

"Reward?" Link repeated, tilting his head.

"What do you mean?" Samba asked.

Krungratrg chuckled knowingly and leaned back, eyes closed and arms crossed. "Oh-ho-ho, just that one can explore these caves and stuff WAAAAY far underground and find all sorts of little goodies that you guys can make better use of than we could," he replied toyingly. "I don't have anything yet, nor does Ruedy, probably, but come back soon. And remember you can play that song to talk to us in dungeons and when you're in public. Ain't sayin' NUTTIN' more on it. Just come back once in a while."

"One of the things I was also told was that we can sort of alert you guys with something new through the Rings of Dualty," Anjoltvrya added thoughtfully, brow furrowed a bit. "I wonder if that's why she told me..."

"Oh, yeah, kitten, that place over there opened up when you got here," Krungratrg added, thumbing to the hole in the wall. "I can't get in there, probably, but you could. I think I smell a bit of iron..."

Anjoltvrya leaned over, then stood and leaned, sniffing. She gasped happily. "Yes! That IS iron!" she declared breathlessly. "I love that smell!"

"Well, my guess is that that's your bunk, then," Krungratrg shrugged, smirking. He looked at Link and Samba. "You guys wanna know anything else? I'm pretty much dry as a _boooone_."

They looked at each other, talking, before looking back and shaking their heads. "Then you guys should leave," Anjoltvrya suggested, jumping down onto the floor in front of them and standing. "If you can, find someone to tell you about the Tools of Nations. We don't know a thing about them, so we can't help. You can just go back into Entrance Hall and stand on the Triforce mark for a few moments. You'll be warped out like before. Playing the Song of Penitence will whisk you back to the front of the hall if you want."

"Alright, thanks," Link nodded, getting up and smiling gratefully. "We'll get going, then."

"See you guys later," Samba said, waving. "Don't kill each other!"

"We'll try not to," Anjoltvrya muttered, looking over her shoulder. Krungratrg grinned nervously back at her, wiggling his claws. She looked back at them and bowed. "Thank you. I'll tell the others how to contact you with the Rings, then one of us can do that when we've got a job for you. Right now, I've got quarters to inspect..." And with that, she jogged to the large crystals forming steps to her hole and jumped up them with as much ease as Samba, maybe even more. Definitely more grace, at least. She turned and waved once before trotting down the tunnel.

"See ya, merry men!" bade Krungratrg, waving and smirking.

They said goodbye and went out the tunnel they came in. Once outside, Link pulled out his ocarina. "Now, then, let's make use of that warp thing," he said.

Samba grabbed his arm when the instrument was but an inch from his lips. He was smirking. "Hold it," he said. "I wanna see just how big those fish are."

Link blinked, then realized what he meant and smiled helplessly. "Sam-ba..."

However, twenty minutes of sitting on a protruding, relatively very low cliff edge later, and Samba, nearly breaking his precious rod in the process (he would need to replace his line before fishing again), caught a 3-foot-long black sea bass that had deep blue where it usually had black. "_YAS!_ The one and only sea-blue bass!" he crowed, panting and holding up the huge, flopping fish. "Oh, the foreman is gonna croak when he sees this sucker! These things are said to be extinct, but they're not—just really, really, _really_ rare around Hyrule," he explained to Link after putting the fish in his fish bag. "I hear that Labrynna's ocean-dwelling zora population has been keeping a close eye on 'em, since they appear to like their waters better."

"May we go now?" Link asked, smiling but still not exactly happy.

"_Yas._ Sorry." They pulled out their instruments and played the Song of Penitence. "They _are _delicious, prolly why..." he muttered while strumming.

After a brief flash of light, the duo was back on the steps of Entrance Hall. "Let's get outta Here," joked Link, which earned a light punch in the shoulder. They went inside and stood on the Triforce. Soon enough, after about three seconds, the air rushed upwards around them and they became the balls of light again, spiraling up into the clouds once more.

( )

Link and Samba's balls of light came down from a point in the air, the point the balls had disappeared, and swirled down, replacing them as they had when they arrived in Here. They looked around to re-orient themselves before getting out of the storage room and coming back into the main chamber of Goron City. "Well, we've finally helped these guys out and gotten onto Daigorno's good side," Link stated, stretching his arms above his head with laced fingers. "We should get down to see him. He might be back already."

"Or not, since we didn't spend as much time Here as we thought," Samba reminded.

They asked one of the goron guards from before. He shook his head. "Big Brother? He has not returned yet, sorry. Why not walk around our city for a bit and take in the sights until he returns?"

'Because there's not much to see,' Samba thought.

"...Say, Brothers, I swear your clothes look a little damp...but there's not really anywhere near enough where you could have gotten wet in as little time as you took..." the other muttered.

They decided to go around and talk to people. Many of them expressed their gratitude and amazement; news had traveled very fast about their exploits. When they went up to get some Hyrulean surface air, they saw it was now early night; the sun had just fully set, and the stars were beginning to sparkle down at them. If they stood and watched long enough, they could see them blink in, one at a time, every few seconds, the rate very gradually increasing.

Link found a child goron sitting on the ground and watching the stars wink in. "Oh, hello, Brothers!" he greeted happily, getting up. "Everyone says that you two defeated that monster in Clamor Plant! Thanks! ...Huh? Oh, yeah, I should be getting inside, but I'm out watching the stars come in. The air's a bit clearer than down below, except when the wind blows Death Mountain's smoke here."

"Say, are you the one who told me about bombs?" Link asked curiously.

The goron child nodded. "Yup! But remember, we don't make 'em in Clamor Plant. That place is a seeeecreeet! We should be selling more soon, though. Get a bomb bag and come back, Brother, and we'll be glad to help you!"

They found Boroy sitting up where they had first spotted him a few long hours ago. He looked tired as he gazed at the stars. "Oh! Brothers!" he greeted when they approached. He stood up. "I can never thank you enough for helping us out there! You saved our economy and so many of our people!"

Link smiled and said it was nothing. Samba just shrugged. "Well, everyone benefited from the whole thing, so I'm happy," he said.

"Yes, we all benefited a lot." Boroy looked over his shoulder, in the direction of the foundry far away. "Looking at the mess the place is in, I realized something...we really don't need all of that stuff," he said quietly. "I mean...some of it's nice, and helps a lot, but...some of it we could do without. It's so...too much, sometimes." He looked back and smiled. "We're all in your debt, though. You'll always be welcome here. Well..." He looked down, the others following his gaze, as if they could all see through the rock to the city below. "...if you don't manage to anger Big Brother even more..." He looked up again and smiled, nodding. "Don't worry, Brothers," he told them. "Just go down and speak with him. He should be back by now."

They nodded and thanked him before going off back down the city. On the way there, Samba remembered to remind Link to talk about Zelda's kidnapping when they were down there. They saw that Daigorno's door was open (it was closed when they had looked before), so they went in. Daigorno was pacing, deep in thought. When he spotted Link and Samba, he stopped and smiled, crossing his great arms. "Ah, the two Metal Tamers!" he addressed. "That's what I've heard some of my people call you. The whole city's abuzz!" He laughed. "Please, Brothers, if there is something I can help you with, tell me," he insisted.

Link and Samba looked at each other before nodding resolutely. They looked back at him. "Chief Daigorno, the zoras are in as much of a predicament as you were, since they cannot traverse their own city's surface areas without extreme effort due to rockslides," Link stated confidently and somewhat passionately. "Without the strength of your people, there is no way they can healthily live their lives. Their friends and family living on the surface areas—they can't get to them without risking themselves by trying to climb their city. And those very friends and family cannot return home without the same amount of risk!"

"They have a waterfall—they can just swim up it," Daigorno pointed out, raising an eyebrow, unmoved. "I've seen it before."

"But...well, not every one of them can do that," Link reasoned. 'Unless they're as scary as these guys...'

Daigorno shook his head. "There is no reason they cannot just come and purchase a few powder kegs from us and help out," he said. "We have them and are willing to sell. Sure, it takes a goron's strength to carry it, but they could just do what you humans do and carry it in teams."

"But the zoras can't survive in this hot air for very long, you know that," Link protested, waving his arm around the room. He then decided to put in a little more of his salesman's convincing experience. "You gorons, though, are tough, and can survive in almost any environment. You don't even have to get wet—the levels are all connected by the dry tunnels, and you could work your way up them. Simple, quick, easy—you'd have your men leaving the day they arrive."

Daigorno shook his head again, frowning. "We need our people now to help repair the factory after all it has gone through," he told him. "We have no time or manpower to send anyone out."

Link faltered a moment, caught between the fact that Daigorno was right—they _were _in need of people to help repair Clamor Plant—and the fact that he was being stubborn and silly and, moreover, selfish. He knew that pointing this out would be a bad idea, though, and was at a loss as to what to say.

Samba, then, narrowed his gaze. "Chief, you _do _know that we speak about the zoras themselves, and _not_ King Zora in particular, _right?_" he checked, temper flaring a little.

Daigorno looked a bit shocked, eyes wide. "What, you think I'm letting my anger at that smelly smelt cloud my reasoning?" he asked, disgusted.

"And you consider yourself a _compassionate_ man, _right?_" Samba asked immediately after. Link gritted his teeth nervously, but Samba's eyes made him hesitate, as did his desire to trust his partner. (Slight (at least) lack of social skills aside, of course.)

Daigorno looked downright appalled, opening his jaw a moment and pausing. "What are you—"

_"Right?"_

Daigorno closed his mouth, frowning angrily, but he nodded. "I do," he replied.

He had just begun opening his mouth again when Samba got there first, raising his voice and snarling a little. "Then why are you not having pity on these people and sending just four or five of your people out for just a day or two, which I know you can, indeed, spare, to do something as small and charitable as clearing their roads? Why are you not imagining how life might be if your own people were stopped from doing something that is a given part of everyday life?" He paused just a very slight moment, twitching his eyeridges, before continuing, "For instance, if the pipes connecting the foundry's water, essential in the smithy, suddenly ran dry because something occurred upstream to the water source they connect to that you cannot access because it is underwater—in which case you would need to rely on the zoras to help you? Have you not considered what you would want if you were in their position?"

Daigorno blinked at this scolding, and he opened his mouth—then stopped himself. He paused a moment, then frowned, fury welling in his eyes as he unfolded his arms, clenching his giant fists. Link thought Samba had overdone it when, suddenly, Daigorno stopped and took a breath. A broad smile slowly curled on his face. "You are right, lizalfos," he said calmly, crossing his arms again. He nodded. "I suppose I _have_ allowed my feud with King Zora to get the better of me. I should listen more to my heart and not my mind, sometimes." He nodded. "Yes, I can spare a few gorons. They can go out and help the zoras and their situation. In the meantime, we can get on without them." He nodded again, chuckling. "Thank you for knocking some sense into this rock I call my brain," he thanked.

Samba, calming, nodded, smiling. "Thank you for listening," he replied.

Daigorno nodded. "Now, then, is that all?" he asked, looking briskly at them.

Link glanced at Samba, checking his face for support in his choice of risking further anger, especially after such a close shave, and looked back to the chief, shaking his head. "One other thing, sir," he said. "Have you caught word that Princess Zelda has gone missing?"

Daigorno's face registered mild shock, then annoyance as he narrowed his gaze. "I have now—but why care about it? What can _we_ do?" he asked.

"You know the mountain better than anyone else," Samba pointed out. "Maybe you could spare a minute amount more to search?"

Daigorno scowled. "It's help the zoras with something we know we can fix, or help the hylians with something we don't know if we can fix—in other words, spend our time or potentially waste it," he said firmly. "I think you know my answer. And, no, there really isn't anyone here better suited to a search party than construction—our hands are much more nimble than our eyes."

The two swordsmen met eyes again before sighing in defeat. "I guess," Link admitted. "It's enough you're sparing men to help the zoras when you need to restore your foundry, which I know is very important to you and your people."

"Right. Now, then, is there anything else?" Daigorno requested. Link and Samba looked at each other once more, then shook their heads. "Then I am busy planning how best to resolve this situation we are in now with the foundry," Daigorno told them. "Thank you for helping us, Metal Tamers, and good luck on your travels." He gave a bemused smirk, tilting his head as he looked at Link. "You know, a young hylian man of your same description and name is mentioned in our legends as the great Dodongo Buster. I wonder if it was fate to be helped by you." He nodded once more. "Farewell, Link and Samba."

They nodded and said good-bye before leaving. Once out into the main city again, they both released their pent-up breath, wiping their brows. "I let my emotions get ahead of me," Samba chuckled weakly at Link. "Wasn't sure I'd pull it off."

"But at least we were able to help King Zora and his people a bit," Link pointed out optimistically. Then he furrowed his brow. "But something didn't seem right about that smile..."

"Let's just get outta here and head back home," Samba said, smiling exasperatedly and thumbing to the ramp leading to the exit beside them. "Ko's _got_ to have figured out that old Hylian script by now. Anjoltvrya _did_ say we should find out about 'em."

Link nodded, smiling. "Yeah...Truth be told, your village is pretty relaxing once you get used to it," he commented thoughtfully. "Or, at least, it seems that way, now, since you guys said you were recovering from that incident..."

"Yeah, better make me leader, just in case," Samba advised before he laughed. To his half surprise, he was, indeed, made leader. He smiled and jerked his head. "C'mon, let's move our no-sleep-needed selves outta here."

Actually, they had no sooner left the gates of the town when a voice called out from the path that most people took to get to Goron City. "HELLOOOOOO THEERRE!" Link and Samba stopped and looked off into the night. A strange-looking, squint-eyed man in a red hat and matching white short-sleeve shirt and shorts carrying a bag came trotting up to them, panting a bit as he ran. He stopped fearlessly in front of Samba. "Greetings there!" he said energetically. "I don't believe me or any of the others before or with me have met you, sir, or you, other sir," he added, looking at Link. He bowed briefly to the both of them. "I am known humbly as the postman," he introduced. "There will be times when you see me coming and running, and when you hear me calling out for you—be not alarmed, be not afraid! For I come in peace as but the hard-working, devoted message-bearer, doing my job to deliver mail to the citizens of Hyrule, regardless of who or what they may be." He looked Samba up and down curtly. "You are a Mr. Samba, correct?" he asked.

Samba, blinking in surprise at this rare occasion where a normal hylian is speaking directly to him—and the once-in-a-lifetime occasion where they have not expressed fear or disgust at all—was speechless for a moment, simply nodding.

The postman reached into his bag. "Well, then, I have a letter for you from a one Vardi," he informed, pulling out a parchment envelope sealed with a simple dab of wax and holding it out to Samba, who took it. "But, sir, this is indeed an interesting occasion," the postman couldn't help but comment, standing attentively again. "As per protocol, the first time one sends a letter to somebody, they are to go to a post office—there is one in Castle Town and one in Ybayba, as well as just outside of Lake Hylia for your convenience whether you are in the northern, southern, or central region of Hyrule—and drop it off. If the recipient has never been delivered to before, a description must be given. Blue, white cloth and brown leather clothing, metal helmet, large feet, possibly traveling with a young man in green clothes—We discriminate not about the looks of who is to receive the letter." He put a hand to his chin. "The cloaked figure I met on my rounds at Death Mountain is suspicious, yes, but the letter was paid for fully and without incident. But more suspicious is the return address...we have never heard of this 'Jgk'hry', you see."

"Not surprised," Samba shrugged, looking at the letter. Its return address read "Vardi", but the paw-writing was someone else's entirely. 'Not Ko's, not Mom's...whose?' He wondered if someone would want to write him a letter bomb or something in Vardi's name, but who would do that without even trying to imitate her penmanship? (And, yes, letter bombs existed in Hyrule, at least in this current time for it. One might give a possible example of how it might work, but it would be wise _not _to write it in something anyone can read.)

"It is of the greatest interest to the Hyrule Post Office to be available to everyone, everywhere, at any time!" the postman continued proudly, thumping his chest. "If there is a settlement not yet known to us, then we do our best to find it or someone from it. Therefore, it is my duty to ask you—do you live in that place?"

Samba blinked, raising an eyeridge. "Well, I'm out and about, nowadays, but that's where I was raised, yes," he replied.

"Then shall we include the town in our rounds?"

Samba started in surprise, stepping back. "REH? You...You mean, have a _human_ actually come and collect mail?" he asked incredulously. "From a village of _lizalfos?_"

"Why not? We've delivered mail originally from and sometimes _to_ moblins living in Labrynna and Holodrum, often interacting with them ourselves," the postman shrugged. "I know it is a lot to ask of a citizen, so we have something prepared for this—" he rummaged in his bag again before bringing out a white paper envelope with a seal of a long-eared bunny (which appeared on his hat as the symbol of the post office, apparently), "—a letter to the leader of your village asking if it would be desirable to expand our rounds to there." Samba took it, too, raising an eyeridge. "We treat things like this entirely as professionals, unbiased and bound by our creed to simply deliver the mail and no other information unless required or requested," he said persuasively.

Samba raised his other eyeridge before sighing and shrugging, putting the letters in his side bag. "I'll deliver it to the chief right away," he nodded.

"You have our thanks, sir!" the postman saluted. He turned to Link. "And you are a Mr. Link, no?" Link nodded. He rummaged again. "Then I have a letter for you, too, from a Bardin." He held out another paper envelope, this one green with a white ink seal with the symbol of Kochyrae (a leaf behind the Hylian symbol starting their town name). Link took it, as well. The postman saluted. "Please read them at your leisure, gentlemen! I must return to my rounds now, but I am confident we shall meet again! Farewell!" And with that, he turned on his heel and trotted off down the path again.

Link and Samba looked at each other, exchanging eyebrow/-ridge raises, before shrugging and, Link putting away his letter from his grandfather, continuing back to the trail leading to Jgk'hry. "We should wait until we've got good enough light to read by," Link advised. "It's bad for your eyes to read in dim light."

"Yeah, Ko's living proof," Samba chuckled. "He said he read deep into the night by the light of a single, small candle as a youth, and after a few years, his vision began to go bad, so he smartened up and stopped reading so late into the night. Mostly. But that's why he's got those reading glasses. Most of us are able to read without them." He thought for a moment, helping Link up a ledge, before adding, "Well, most meaning just most; pretty close to half of the ones who read regularly actually need reading glasses, no matter what we've done to our eyes. My mother needs them, too, though she tries to get by without them."

"You know how to make glasses, then?" Link asked curiously. "Stupid question, but..."

"Actually, that's another thing we trade with the gorons," Samba answered, raising his eyeridges and a claw. "Truth be told, we probably could learn, but..." He looked away, perhaps embarrassed in his race. "...we might end up with more broken glass than any other race on the floors of the shops..."

They reached Jgk'hry an bit before dawn (the enemies from last time returned, slowing their progress). "Ko gets up early, but we should wait until he's eaten before we talk to him," Samba told Link after letting him out outside the gates. "There are a couple benches by the water with a torch nearby that we could read our letters by. Let's get there before day breaks over the crevice, which should be in a few minutes."

The two went in, the guards greeting Samba sleepily. They found one of the benches, sitting by the lake on the edge of the path so that their feet dangled a couple inches above the water (for most, including Link; the tips of Samba's tough talons traced across the surface in a way that he said always relaxed him) and sat down. The bench had a back to it, but of only one plank, situated about shoulder blade-height to allow room for the creatures' long, thick tails. A torch burned nearby, providing enough light for them. Samba sat on the far side of it since his eyes could read in dim light better, allowing Link to read easier.

Link opened his letter and read silently:

"Dear Link,

How's the journey coming along? Betta's told me that his friend Ko saw you in his hometown. You were seen helping out the villagers when some crazy happening occurred. You really are having an adventure, aren't you? Heh...I remember you always talking about going on one someday when you were younger. Isn't that why you became so fit and well-rounded?

Things here are fine. Betta's arm is healing, the villagers are living life alright without you, though the children miss you, and the shop's doing fine, as well as it always does being so out of the way compared to the rest of Hyrule...Next time you're here, I'd like it if you could take a moment to help me out a little bit. Me and Betta are considering telling the villagers about how there are friendly lizalfos, but we're scared they'll think we're crazy. We'd like it if your lizalfos friend could come into the village with you, because everyone should experience a peaceful, forest-side village at least once in their lives.

Well, I'd better go. I hope my gifts are helping out.

Love, your grandfather,

Bardin"

Link raised an eyebrow when he noticed a wider-than-usual space between "are" and "fine" in the second paragraph's first sentence. 'If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was a pause where he thought of something better to say...'

Samba opened his letter, which revealed an extra scrap of paper that came floating out and he grabbed before it hit the water, then he looked at the parchment letter and read it (feeling stupid that he was there and Vardi would be awake in a short while, though), also silently, until he widened his eyes and turned to Link. "Well, I'll be! Get a load of this!" he said. He read aloud in a low voice:

"Samba,

I can't believe I'm doing this, but I felt I had to tell you right away, and I'm not sure you're coming back anytime soon. First, though, we're doing fine; the chief's recovering well, Mom's taking care of me, Ko's been reading away as normal. But something happened the other night. I was just about to put out the light in the living room when I heard a soft knock at the door. So I opened it and saw, of all things, A POLS VOICE!" Link's eyes widened, raising an eyebrow at Samba, who glanced up briefly before continuing.

"Thing is, it was friendly. It sniffed me a few times, and around, and it hopped right in and hugged up to me. I was about to shout for Mom when I remembered that loud noises aggravate them, and we can't have a Pols Voice hopping mad(ly) around all over the house, so I knocked on her door. She gasped and was about to grab me when it went over, sniffing her, and hugged against her, too. Then it hopped over to your bed, sniffed it, and then turned to us, frantically hopping up and down and indicating the bed. I think it was trying to tell us something...Does it know you, Samba?

"Anyway, we're going to keep it, because it's really nice, quiet, and I hear they don't eat that often. We fed it a fish and it looked reeeally full. It was funny. It went to sleep on your bed, hope you don't mind. Before it went, though, it gave me some weird piece of paper, which I'm sending, too. It also left a purple rupee by your bed before it went to sleep, which I'm gonna leave be if it's not for me or you. I dunno what to name it yet...

Visit us again sometime soon!

Vardi"

Samba blinked at Link, who blinked at him, then they looked at the scrap that had almost fallen into the water. It was a dirty, rough-edged fragment of map, it appeared to be. It had lines and arrows on it and what appeared to be some bits of words that they couldn't make out. They shrugged, then Samba gave it to Link to put with the map. "Well, I think we'll head there, first," Samba said, "after breakfast." The sky through the crevice above them lightened more as the sun began peeking higher above the edge of the world, shedding a little light into the cave. A lizalfos came by and used a bell-like tool to snuff out the torch before silently walking off again, putting out the torches along the path around the lake.

Link and Samba got off the bench and started walking around. Link watched the town as it woke up. A few lizalfos started to sleepily come out of houses, and he saw one lizalfos go to the place he remembered was the store in the village. He mused how a village with almost no contact with the outside world had a general store. 'It's probably very lucrative,' he chuckled in his head.

Samba looked down the dock. He saw the platform in the middle of the lake wasn't attended to yet—but, of course, it had only been a day, though it felt much longer. But closer, he saw the fishing foreman pulling up in his large fishing boat. In an hour, his co-workers would push off and go fishing. Samba grinned and trotted over. Link, of course, followed.

The foreman, who always trailed his long, skinny tail in the water whenever he was near it, looked up from tying off the mooring line on a dock post and smiled as Samba approached. "Well, well, Samba's early," he stated. "The world _is _going crazy."

Samba chuckled and shook his head, stopping by him. "You have no idea, sir," he said. "Has the fishing been good? I never got around to talking to you last time."

The foreman nodded, arms crossed as he stood in the boat. "Yes, we've been able to get by without you," he answered. "It'd be nice to have another line in the water, however. If you have the time, feel free to join the loners, or us if you're here on time."

"Loners?" Link couldn't help but ask, curious.

"Oh, sorry, forgot about you—Sir, this is my teammate and friend, Link," Samba introduced. "He and I are currently trying to...well, save Hyrule."

The foreman raised an eyeridge, tilting his head as he inspected Link. "Really, now? I see he can understand me, but I can't him. Interesting." He made eye contact with Link. "The way our fishing business works revolves around two kinds of ships. One is my ship, the 'school ship', where the mass of lures simulates a school of fish as we gently go around in a circle in the lake. Samba here was part of that group. We also have random 'loners', one-man boats that float in place separately from the school ship. If a school ship fisherman is late, they have to be alone in that boat for a while. While everyone has to remain silent, we understand the value of companionship, and it is better to fish with others than it is alone, for us." Link nodded in understanding.

Samba grinned and got out his fish bag. "Sir, I caught some fish while out and about," he said proudly. "Including one that'll make you nearly capsize."

The foreman scoffed. "Oh, _really?_ If you're wrong, you're not going ANYWHERE until you've given me twenty push-ups," he warned before taking the bag. Samba gave him his fishing log, as well, smiling nervously.

"What's so bad about doing push-ups?" Link asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'd rather not do them, but by now, they should be nothing..."

"Nothing, true, but he sits on us whenever he metes that punishment out," Samba replied wryly.

The foreman suddenly gasped, and they turned to see him holding the sea-blue bass, jaw dropped wide open. "There's no mistaking this color or this smell," he said after a moment. He laughed and looked up at Samba, smirking. "Well-done, Samba! You know as well as I do how unbelievably rare this fish is!" he praised. "I've only seen this thing in front of my face only once before in my life." He grinned and put it into a compartment in the boat. "We'll preserve this guy and put him up in the fishing center. If the world _does _turn upside-down and we see other people coming, well, won't _they _be surprised. OH!" He snapped his claws and reached into another compartment. He came out holding a box with a big lens on it. "Get your fishing rod out—Link, move aside, we gotta take his pictograph so that we all know who it was that caught this guy..."

A moment later, Samba's grinning, fishing rod-holding image was preserved onto film forever.

The foreman put the pictobox back into its compartment before chuckling and getting something from yet one more compartment, one which was locked. "And I'd say you've made impressive progress, Samba," he added. "I don't know why you said 'Here' for that sea-blue bass, but I'll take your word for it. You've earned this, methinks." He rose and held out, to their pleasant surprise, a Piece of Heart!

Samba gasped in a grin, taking it. "THANK you, sir!" he bowed deeply. He held the Piece of Heart, looking at it a moment and relishing his victory before letting it absorb. It broke and went into him, as normal. His Ring pulsed with red-pink light briefly, then Link's Ring pulsed the same way.

"Next time we assemble a Heart Container, don't do that overly-dramatic thing again, please," Link asked wryly, crossing his arms.

Samba frowned at him, but laughed.

"Anyway, you gonna come and work with us today, Samba?" the foreman asked, getting back to business as his face turned serious again and his arms crossed. Samba said they didn't really have time right now and the foreman nodded. "Well, then, quit wasting my time. Just remember to keep fishing in your spare time. Even people saving the world have some, you know. Thanks for stopping by, of course." He gave the shooing motion, and went back to his work (which really was just jumping onto the dock and standing, waiting).

Samba walked back to shore. He looked at Link smugly. "See? Knew taking the time to fish for that thing was worth it," he said knowingly. Link sighed and held his hands up.

By now, the early morning had come in the village. Link observed that it was an early bird community, since a lot more lizalfos were out and about. He was regarded with wariness, but nobody said anything meanly about him.

Samba led them to his house. He opened the door, calling. "Hey, we're ba—AACK!" Suddenly, he was tackled to the ground, almost a la _Calvin and Hobbes_, by a Pols Voice, Link glad he wasn't directly behind him at the time. Samba blinked at the fluffy, beach ball-sized creature on top of him that was almost crushing him under its weight as it nuzzled up against his body affectionately. He then chuckled and hugged it gently, smiling broadly and sighing. "OH, I missed how this feels!" he said quietly.

"Samba!" Vardi came running to the door, looking unsure. "You...You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Samba replied, lifting the Pols Voice up with an effort and putting it on the ground before getting up. 'Lost a heart, but...' "I just read your letter," he told her, smiling.

Vardi, who'd opened her mouth, closed it in a smile. "I was just about to ask. What do you think we should name it?" she asked.

Samba frowned in thought for a moment. "Well...um..." He blinked his eyes open, mouth limp as a totally unexpected idea entered his head, feeling almost as if someone had placed it in there. "...'Lullaby'," he whispered.

"'Lullaby'?" Vardi repeated, raising an eyeridge. "Why that?"

"We played a special lullaby to calm it," Samba answered, looking down at it. "It's a nice pet name." He smiled and bent down. "Whatcha think? You wanna be called 'Lullaby'?" he asked cheerfully. The Pols Voice bobbed forwards and back, like it had in the dungeon. Samba chuckled and grinned. "Then that's what we'll call you! Be a good little blubberball, Lullaby!" Lullaby jumped up and down happily.

"Oh, so _this_ is what all this noise is about," Ybir said. They turned to see her stop at the door frame, leaning on one side and crossing her arms, raising an eyeridge and smirking. "Morning, Samba, Link."

"Morning, Ybir," Link waved pleasantly.

"Hey, Mom," Samba smiled. He looked at the Pols Voice. "Can we...really keep it?" he asked hopefully.

Ybir chuckled. "Well, of course," she said. "We haven't had one of those guys since—" She paused. "—since before Vardi could remember." She beckoned. "Come on, tell us all what happened. You look like you've just come from quite the ordeal—Link, dear, your skin looks a little bit redder than normal, as does your hide, Samba..."

They came in and Samba was instantly tugged by Lullaby to his bedroom. There, he saw the purple rupee on the floor. The Pols Voice lifted it up with its dextrous ears before turning and offering it to Samba, who looked touched and surprised. "Oh! Um...Thanks, Lullaby!" He knelt and accepted the 50-rupee reward. "Well, looks like we got a little refund from getting that tunic, sorta," he mused while he beheld the beautiful currency before walleting it.

"Before we begin, think we should call in Ko?" asked Ybir as they sat around the table. "I met him before coming home for bed last night and he said he was finished translating. He probably would like to hear about this, too."

Samba looked at Link. "He'll wanna hear it, trust me," he chuckled sorrily. "You know where he is—right across from the dock, up a stairway path that starts by the billboard. Could you run over and grab him?"

"Why not go with?" Ybir asked flatly, crossing her arms and looking unamusedly at him.

"Because there's some...lizalfos stuff I wanna talk about with you guys," Samba replied. "Everyone's got their own private matters in their families."

Ybir frowned, but nodded. "Alright. Link, you can just hide in your Ring if people start beating up on you or anything, but I'm sure you can handle yourself fine," she said. "I'll send my son after you if you're not back in ten minutes, alright?"

Link blushed and smiled sheepishly. "You're...um, your concern is really appreciated," he changed mid-sentence. 'Saying, "You're treating me like I'm one of your kids," wouldn't be the best thing to say...Thank you, homophones!' He then nodded and left.

"Now, then, what's this that's so important as to use your own partner as a fetching boy?" Ybir asked darkly once Link was out of earshot, glaring at her son.

Samba removed his helmet, running a paw over his slick head, and sighed. He looked down at Lullaby, bouncing cutely. It looked at the helmet he held, and Samba lowered it down a bit. Lullaby sniffed at it, then jumped up so that the helm landed on its head, holding it with its ears on the way down. It looked very cute as it wore the armor piece happily. "I...kinda don't want Link to hear...Seeing the Pols Voice reminds me..." He looked at her distantly. "...It's not-so-kinda about...him..."

Ybir raised her eyeridges in slight surprise. "What do you want to talk about behind his back?" she asked in a bit of disappointed shock.

"Mom?" Ybir looked at Vardi. Vardi looked at Samba, who was looking down at Lullaby with a sad frown. "He means _him_."

Ybir's features slowly softened, melting into one that looked like Samba's when he came up with his new pet's name. "...Oh..."

Samba moved his tail and gently stroked Lullaby's pelt.

Link arrived a few minutes later, Ko in tow. He hadn't received more than a few harsh glances from the lake walkers. 'For a village, this place has a lot of people,' he mused as he walked. 'I think I've only seen 4 or 5 people I swear I saw earlier today that I don't know the name of, and I've seen at least 10 already...'

"Really, did you spend too much time out in the sun?" asked Ko, concerned and tilting his head, brow knit. "Your skin seems redder than I saw it last..."

"I think our story'll explain," Link said over his shoulder before turning to knock on the door.

"Saw you coming through the window," Samba said as he opened the door, smiling. Lullaby stayed by his leg, looking up a little timidly at Ko.

Ko raised his eyeridges at the little monster. "Oh! A Pols Voice! This is new!" he said in surprise. "Where'd it come from?"

"Again, our story'll explain," Link said again, chuckling.

"Oh? Then it'll be an interesting tale," Ybir mused from the table, leaning on it and smiling wryly.

"...Goddesses, pinch me, this is too unreal, I've gotta be dreaming," Ko muttered after they finished.

Samba, who was petting Lullaby in his lap (though he was beginning to lose feeling in his legs), smirked at him. "Alright," he said, and he reached over. Ko pulled his arm away quickly, and they laughed.

They'd told them about the gorons' situation all the way up to when they left from Here. During the story, they'd determined that Lullaby must have decided to go where this friendly lizalfos came from and followed Samba's scent to his home after leaving the foundry. As for the slip of paper, Ko said keep it—it looks most similar to a treasure map, and even in a fragment, you never knew. They'd also determined that Link had gotten the sunless equivalent of a sunburn by staying around the super-hot areas of the foundry. The tunic couldn't protect his face, sadly, but Link said he'd be alright.

Ko sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, but this IS quite unbelievable," he apologized. "I feel like I've walked into one of the tales I devoured when I was younger and read fiction far more than I do now. I should fix that sometime..."

"This _is_ interesting," Ybir agreed, holding her head in her palms as she rested her elbows on the table. "You're going on quite the quest, Samba."

"Yeah, I'm almost jealous," Vardi said. She was leaning on her crossed arms on the table, kicking her little legs. "'Almost' because I don't like the high-chance-of-getting-killed part."

"GOOD," Ybir approved firmly, making them chuckle.

"Anyway, Ko, Anjoltvrya told us that we should find out about the Tools of Nations," Link said, leaning an arm on the table as he turned to him. "You're done with the translating—what can you tell us?"

Ko nodded and took out his book and reading glasses, then opened it up to a bookmarked page. Some pieces of parchment with writing in Hylian on them fell out, and he took those up. "Alright, according to what I could make out of the old Hylian, the Tools of Nations are a powerful group of eight objects," he began. "It doesn't say how they were made, though they say that when they are found, it will be unsurprising what shape they are and what material they are associated with. They represent the ingenuity and tenacity of all civilizations—the inventiveness of its people and the determination to survive as a society amidst a dangerous natural and inner world. Each of them represents a material, a virtue, and an important invention that allowed civilization to advance significantly."

"Hmmmm..." Link hummed before looking at Samba. Samba reached over and shuttered the window. They then cupped their dominant hands together, and a light emitted from the Rings, appearing above their palms. A second later, the Rose Hammer flashed into existence, surprising everyone and almost scaring away Lullaby. After summoning it, they looked at each other in surprise. "It worked," Link muttered.

"Well, that's helpful," Samba muttered back. He grabbed the hammer and held it up, showing it to Ko, whose jaw was dropped. "What's the Rose Hammer represent, then?" he asked.

Ko just gaped, half in horror, half in utter disbelief. It took him a moment (and a swat on the head by Ybir) before he cleared his throat, swallowed, and answered, "Th-The Rose Hammer, this Tool, is obviously a hammer, quite important to human and lizalfos civilization, as well as many other cultures, since it allows the binding of the frames of structures made from wood, mostly, though it also allows nails to be driven into things such as stone to allow things to hang from them. It's also handy when wedging things together. The hammer is also useful as a weapon, able to crush skulls with ease. As the Rose Hammer, it represents the material of metal, which it appears Anjoltvrya has described enough. Finally, it represents the virtue of Simplicity."

'Simplicity?' Link raised an eyebrow. 'Tell that to the people who made the place where we got it...Well, okay, where the one holding it was...'

Samba tried to put it back into magical storage himself, but couldn't, so he and Link placed their hands together again and dismissed it. "Anything else about the Tools?" he asked.

Ko nodded, looking back at the rewrite he had made. "Each Tool is excruciatingly powerful," he said. "While, 'when the sky gathers dust' as it says, the Rings of Dualty are able to harness the power of the Tools of Nations, with the right spells, anyone can unleash or even absorb their immense magical power...This will, without exception, eventually transform the wielder into a terrible monster. You had best keep any Tools you get hidden from anyone you don't trust with your life," he advised sternly, pointing at them. "There's also a footnote talking about how if an animal happens to come across a Tool, they will be given a new body similar to that which they had before; such is Anjoltvrya's case. With the increased intelligence, the animal has the choice of using or discarding the Tool, keeping their form regardless." He shook his head. "It says, as well, that certain creatures and people who possess the sufficient magical power are able to harness them without being transformed...which is probably why the chief said you should collect them—keep them out of the hands of whoever is trying to doom Hyrule."

"What about Ruedekul and Krungratrg?" asked Vardi. "They transformed just by wearing the Rings of Dualty..."

"That's about the Rings themselves," Ko replied, pointing at her. "The Rings are closely related to the Tools of Nations. They, too, represent a material. Obviously, Link's represents wood while Samba's represents stone, but I don't know what the third represents. Since the Rings are more important, they will almost instantly transform the wrong wearers into the respective Leviathans of Material."

"Do you know what any of the others are?" Ybir asked.

Ko shook his head. "The book doesn't say. It just says what I just said."

"Nothing about Here?" Samba asked. Ko shook his head. Samba frowned. "But surely other Leviathans have been defeated before..."

"Maybe, maybe not," Ko said. "And maybe Here is special, since it appears the time has come for the Leviathans to help pay for their wrongdoings that they did before or after becoming Leviathans...The best I can guess is that they lend their power at some point."

"Hmm..." everyone went, thoughtful.

Ko sighed and put his glasses away. "You should go see the chief, now, I think," he said. "I'll continue researching all I can about this situation. There's always a ton of prophesies and such about these threats to Hyrule."

"Alright, then," Samba said, nodding. He looked at Lullaby and smiled. "Okay, I can't feel my legs anymore, and I need my helmet back, now," he told it. "Time to get off." He lifted his helmet off from it (to its disappointment) and placed it off of him and onto the floor.

"You'll be back sometime, right?" asked Vardi, frowning, as they got up, Samba putting his helmet back on.

"Yeah, we'll stop in once in a while," Samba nodded, smiling. "Don't worry."

"Okay," Vardi replied, doing the same as her brother.

"Be safe," bade Ybir. "Both of you."

"Oh! Link," Ko suddenly said, pointing at him. "Betta left me another message. He said you might want to visit back soon..."

Link frowned. "I knew there was something fishy about how Grandpa said everything was fine," he murmured. "Thanks. I'll take him up on that suggestion," he said louder.

Everyone said good-bye, and Link and Samba left. Samba led them to the medical cavern and found his leader still in bed, albeit sitting up and reading a book in Hylian. (He had reading glasses on, as well.) Kargaro looked up when Samba and Link walked in and smiled. "Oh! Back from Goron City?" he asked, marking his place securely with a cord-and-clasp bookmark.

After they gave a brief summary of what they'd learned and done, Kargaro thought for a moment. "Hmmm...Well, the only thing I can think of to tell you is keep going," he said. "And check back with King Zora—I'm not exactly sure Daigorno would listen that easily."

"What if Daigorno ends up being as angered as I'd made you?" Samba asked, frightened at the thought.

"He'll probably use whatever abilities he has, become a bit more monstrous, and try to kill someone," Kargaro answered simply. He then realized why they looked frightened at that thought and laughed. "Oh, relax! Gorons can grow to immense sizes, but not instantly, like I can. That's just my own special power. I doubt he'd grow as big as a mountain."

They breathed sighs of relief.

"However, if you're worried you might face things a bit too much for you," Kargaro went on thoughtfully, "you might want to keep an eye out for fairy fountains. They're well-hidden fountains where lots of those fairies you can put into bottles are. Some are even better, being Great Fairy Fountains."

"Who and what are they?" Link asked curiously. Samba looked equally curious.

"They're the leaders of the fairies," he answered. "Each one excels in a certain area or represents a certain thing. For example, legends say that the leader of the Great Fairies is the Great Fairy of Kindness...or Happiness...something like that. There is also the Great Fairy of Magic, and one of Power. Finding them will most likely land some useful fish in your nets—they grant special abilities to those they see fit to accept them, such as special spells, one legend says. They're well-hidden...you'll probably need to break down stone walls to discover them. Don't be afraid to search suspicious-looking areas."

They nodded and thanked him for the information, wished him to get well soon, and left.

Link and Samba (the latter still leading) got to Zora's Domain that evening. The gates were, thus, shut. They groaned. "Sure, we have a place to go when we need a little more time," Link said, "but what about when we have _too much_ time?..."

Samba shook his head. "Well, I'd say we should go to sleep, but we can't with the Rings on, so..." He sighed, shaking his head again. He looked up at the wrought metal gate, frowning in impatient thought. "...I wonder if we could climb it..." He reached up.

"Don't," Link said firmly, grabbing his arm before it touched the metal. "We don't want to get in trouble."

Samba looked unhappy, but didn't try to argue. "Well, why don't we just look around for a bit?" he suggested. "We've got all night."

Link nodded, and Samba looked around a bit before shrugging and running toward a tree. This tree was near the entrance to Zora's Domain, but wasn't the same one from the last time they came in the middle of the night. So, hearing a familiar, dreadful screetching sound from its branches was entirely new. "Reh?" Samba looked up into it when they got close. The screetching had stopped when they had gotten within a four-yard radius of the trunk, but they had heard it loud enough before getting there to know where it was. The fact this tree wasn't alone, though, made it a little more difficult, but not really that much. "You know how to get stuff outta trees, right?" Samba asked Link.

"Shake the tree," Link replied plainly.

"Precisely," Samba said before running and rolling into the trunk. He grunted and bounced back, but...nothing shook out but a few leaves. He got up and looked to the other tree. "It's over there," he said.

"Got it." Link rolled into that tree, and with a loud rustle, a Gold Skulltula came falling out nearby. It tried to get away, but Link and Samba were too fast for it. In moments, they had collected another Skulltula Token and medal. This one was of a very reflective metal—chrome, Link remembered, and displayed a picture of a pair of boots that appeared to have metal partially encasing the feet. Link decided to call them Iron Boots.

They continued to explore the immediate area. They fought with numerous foes, but eventually, they _did_ find a rocky area with one very large boulder lying against the rock wall that went around Zora's Domain's outside. Link stopped, blinking, when an inexplicable urge came over him. He ran over to the boulder. Samba noticed this and ran after him once he didn't respond to his call.

"What's the deal?" Samba asked when he stopped by Link. The hylian was standing, holding his chin thoughtfully.

"I don't know," Link replied slowly. "I just have the strangest urge to break this."

Samba laughed. "It's called 'being a guy'," he joked. He then looked around. There were a few other boulders, but they were really just very large rocks. They could probably lift them with some effort. This one seemed abnormally large compared to the rest. "...Or your subconscious noting this boulder looks a bit out of place..." he muttered.

Link frowned. "But without the power of a bomb, this thing's going nowhere," he said. He suddenly raised his eyebrows. "...Unless I apply the same sudden force..." he murmured. He looked at Samba. "Get back," he warned before producing the Thunderforge. He faced the boulder and took the mightiest swing he could. His arms yelped with the jarring pain he received, and the slam was unpleasantly loud in the quiet night, but the boulder had grown a large amount of cracks. Many small bits had come off. "Hey..." Link tried again, and the boulder remained, though more cracks appeared and more chunks fell off. He gave it one more whack, and the whole thing shattered with a _BRRRAAAMM!_. He panted, arms hurting from the recoil, but he smiled.

He'd revealed a cave in the wall behind the boulder.

Once inside, they saw it was pitch-dark. Link was glad Samba was leader now, since he could use his night vision to see a little bit, and thus was able to stop each other from falling down a deep, very wide hole. The wall closer to them was relatively rough and stony, however, so they could climb up and down. They climbed down, suddenly feeling a very slight, strange sensation that was familiar but unknown, and found themselves beginning to enter water, which they didn't want to do if they couldn't see where they were. From what Samba could see from the wall, it wasn't entirely untouched; he saw an old torch on the wall to either side of them. The water, as far as he could see, went on and on below. It was quiet; it was probably a pond or just moved very slowly.

Samba hoped there was dry tinder before tossing his Fire Pebble spell at one. It lit, thankfully, and so he lit both of them. The grotto revealed itself to be mostly fairly deep water with some stone "islands" along the edges. They were at one end of it. The water was clear, but had stalag—no, wait, those were reflections of the stalactites above. They dropped into the water and swam to an island before Samba saw more torches and lit them, too.

A few lit torches later, and the place revealed itself to be pretty long, in a bit of a curve, and around 20 feet wide. They were about a fifth from the right end (coming in from the wall and facing away from it). The islands, soon becoming thick, broad rock protrusions, rose in a series of seemingly randomly-placed platforms that were about 3 feet by 5. Some were level to each other, but not necessarily adjacent. At the far end of the room was a platform that had a rusty floor switch on it. Below this, the water entered through a metal portcullis.

"Think this is another dungeon?" Samba asked.

"No, this looks like it's just someone's old hideout," Link shook his head. "You think you can jump across these platforms?"

Samba looked around, then shrugged before starting. Going back over to old areas (horizontally) sometimes, he was able to jump a few, finding that it branched once, until he found himself stuck, too far to reach any of the others. The whole time, it wasn't always very obvious where he had to go next, and he more often than he liked found himself wondering if he was stuck before finding the next platform. He went back to the branch and tried the other way, but found that that was instantly a bust; he was in a corner and could reach nowhere else except back. He did, however, find a hole directly above him where something shiny glimmered at him. Shrugging again, he fired a normal pebble at it. Well, he wanted to, but he instead realized he'd just cast another Fire Pebble when it hit the object. His intuition paid off; the switch lit up red, showing itself to be like the flame-shaped switch from the Empty Cavern that only his Fire Pebble activated, and he heard a rumbling. He looked around as some stones he'd seen sticking out of the wall flipped around to reveal plates of metal that had faded red or blue colors to them. He heard some mechanism clicking slowly in the walls, and knew this was a limited-time offer and he had to act now.

What made it harder was he had to go all the way back to the end of the first branch in the platforms first to get to one of them because he was just too far away for the Volt Claws' magnetic powers to take effect—or the magnetic plates were too weak, which was what he assumed was the case, instead. (He'd gone farther in Clamor Plant using magnet-pulling, and those plates looked newer.)

He dashed around, jumping as fast as he could and hoping he wouldn't slip, until he made it to the spot and aimed the opposite-colored Volt Claw at the nearest plate, where he stuck and rested his footpaws against the wall to look around, the other paw free. He knew there was no way he could try and repel himself to the other side, where he could just get to the rusty switch, without having to break to use his built-up electricity before he overloaded or use magic again. That didn't mean he didn't try. So, waiting until his electricity limit was nearly reached, he repelled himself.

When he had gotten a third the way across, he broke and retried...to find himself still falling. He had gone too far! With a cry, he continued until he fell into the water, upon which his Volt Claw instantaneously dispelled. He got a nasty shock coming into the water, costing him a heart, as it did, though. He grumbled and swam to a nearby platform he could get up on (these platforms offered no way to start the jumping) and broke the rocks there to scrounge for magic bottles. He got one and continued going back to the start with Link. By then, a buzzer had sounded and the plates rotated back into rocks.

"Someone's very well-locked hideout," Link added with a raised eyebrow when Samba, grumpy, got back to his platform. "I'll come with and wait to activate the switch again if you don't get across this time," he offered.

"No, it's a kind that only Fire Pebble flips," Samba shook his head. "Thank you very much, though..."

So, Samba tried again and, on the way to the switch, he realized he'd discovered a new mechanic of Volt Claw: He could stick to the single plate in the wall and then look around, the other paw free to reach for another plate so he could pull himself again! He realized he could do this fine thanks to the way the spell worked, feeding off of his magic before his built-up electricity, and that before his magic again. He hoped that switching mid-pull would work better than mid-push as he pulled toward the first plate a bit later. He looked around quickly and aimed for the nearest-looking plate the opposite color as the one he clung to and aimed. He got there and ran out of electricity while looking for another plate, but he was smart and didn't break his looking pace while he mentally stopped and started the spell once again. He decided that, whenever he was sticking to a magnetic plate like this, he would do that to keep on without falling.

Samba went across the plates, thankfully never having to try and get to one on the same wall that he couldn't drop to or pull towards from his current position. 'I'd have to be able to run across a sheer, vertical wall for quite a ways without accidentally kicking off or falling,' he thought later, 'and that defies the laws of nature. And I don't know any spells that could help right now, either. Maybe enchanted boots...' He discovered that switching while pulling meant, yes, he was still in range, and thus it worked. He made it to the final plate, above the platform with the rusty switch, with only a couple seconds to spare (he'd spent a bit more time looking for close-enough plates than he'd liked) and no magic (only electricity) left. Once there, he told Link to hide, then brought him out again, and Link used the Thunderforge on the floor switch.

The portcullis lifted, and no ticking sounded. Samba made Link lead and hid, saying he can't swim as well as Link, ironically (he suspected his body being heavier than Link's, even without his tail, as the culprit). Link went through and found a moat around another island with bioluminescent mushrooms on the walls to provide some light. The island contained a chest, which had inside...

"A Piece of Heart!" Link cheered as he obtained the item, smiling happily.

"That makes all that worth it," Samba commented with a relieved sigh.

After absorbing the Heart Piece, Link swam back to the climbing wall and made his way up. Once outside, he let Samba out again and asked if he wanted to be leader again. Samba said that'd be nice, but he didn't have to. He got to be leader again, anyway.

They didn't find much else around, though, so they went across the river (the current was fairly strong, but they could swim across before being swept too far away) and hunted around the other side. They didn't find anything they could make use of, but they found one thing to make note of.

After crossing a small stream, they found themselves looking at a vast, dark shape they'd seen before, but was closer than ever now. The ground had begun rising in a few foothills around them. "You know, I've heard of this place," Samba said as they jogged toward it on their hunt for anything. "While there's the solitary Death Mountain that I call home, there is a grand mountain range that begins here and, together with the treacherous Verdart Swamp and Death Canyon, forms the northern border of Hyrule."

"It's this," Link nodded. "What's it called?"

"A path exists because people once tried getting past it, but it ends because the cold winds and steep terrain stopped them. They wanted to go across and see if there were nations with which they could trade, but since they couldn't complete the pass, they gave it a fitting name: Embargo Ridge."

"Wow..." Link looked at its looming shape. "It does look imposing."

They continued toward it and saw the beginning of the trail going up it. It looked alright from there, and looked as if people used it (probably hikers) thanks to the presence of a sign in an arch over the place where the slope changed the sharpest. Once they got closer, they saw it read, predictably, "Embargo Pass". A sign by the right-hand leg of the arch further read, "Pass is incomplete and dangerous. Take at your own risk."

"I almost want to go up it," Link muttered, looking up at the trail and crossing his arms. "But we should get back so it isn't too late when we return to Zora's Domain."

Samba agreed. "I have the feeling we'll be going there sometime rather soon, though," he added.

"Why? We've already defeated the Leviathan of Stone," Link shrugged as they turned and started running back. "Or, well, _you_ have."

"True, but still...something tells me, that's all," Samba said half to himself.

The two made it back to the entrance of Zora's Domain as the sun finally poked over the horizon. The gate was opened already when they came in. The guards greeted them. "By the way, some gorons have recently come to help out with our problem," one of them added happily.

"But...Well, we're grateful that the goron chief finally decided to help us out," the other said, sounding mixed. "It's just...well, um...I can't help but feel...oh, nevermind."

The swordsmen exchanged glances before going again into the zoras' home.

Inside, they instantly discovered a goron standing by the cave-in by the entrance and hammering away, punch by punch, at the rock wall. He looked a bit scrawny for a goron, however, and he was panting when they spoke to him. "Oh! If it isn't the great Metal Tamers!" he greeted, smiling as he turned to them. He mopped his brow. "Phew, this is tough work...Oh, Big Brother sent some of us here to take care of the zoras' problem accessing their tunnels," he explained. "We're all doing our best, spread out evenly, but things are going really slow. I wonder how mad Big Brother would get if we came back way later than he wanted us to...I really hate leaving a job unfinished. Don't you, Brothers?"

They nodded, looking at each other in concern. Then an idea occurred to them as they made their way along, going back to King Zora. They would ask the next goron about it. (The zoras they passed didn't say much, mostly commenting on the gorons being there and how they were worried about their slow work.) They saw him working away at the entrance facing the center of the river entrance. "Hello, Brothers! I hear that you two were the ones to convince Big Brother to send some relief to these poor zoras," he greeted happily. "If so, thank you! I have always wanted to experience a change in scenery, and the zoras are very hospitable. But..." He looked over to the wall he was working on. "...we're all having a bit of trouble helping them..." (They noticed that he, too, was pretty lacking in the muscle department.)

"Why not work together on one at a time?" suggested Link.

The goron frowned at this. "Work together on one at a time? But then we won't get finished all at the same time!" he gently protested. "We're working pretty efficiently as-is, anyway..."

They left him be, unsure, but unable to really do anything without risking worsening their relationship with the gorons. So, they just made their way up the rock ledges until they were finally at the top. As Samba was going along the crevice by his paws, he noticed that his (actual) claws didn't feel as uncomfortable when they pressed hard against the stone. It didn't feel a bit as if they were being pulled off his fingertips like flaps...now, it just felt like mild pressure. He kept this in the back of his mind as he pulled himself up (noticing his paws' gripping power had seemingly increased, as well).

On the way, they spoke to other gorons, who talked about how hard the work was, and how they were honored to see the two who helped save the foundry and the people stuck inside. All of them looked sub-par on the goron strength meters. Link and Samba frowned at this suspiciously. "You don't think he found a loophole, did you?" Link asked Samba on their way up.

"By sending gorons of any choice because we didn't tell him to SPECIFICALLY send strong ones?" Samba asked back. "_Naw_, ya think?..." He growled, crossing his arms and frowning. He mumbled through gritted teeth in Lizalfos. "Why in Hyrule..."

"Well, it's still better than nothing," Link muttered.

…

_omake_

…

*Anjoltvrya is inspecting her new place. It's a large, square chamber with piles of iron ore lying about. It's dark, though she can see thanks to her night vision. She picks out a spot for her to sleep (marking it with a wrench-drawn circle that she would later put hay onto) and then looks around again.*

Krungratrg: *calling from entrance* Hey, hey, kitten, how d'you like your new digs?

Anjoltvrya: *calls back* They're good! A bit dark, though...I'm going to need some braziers...And it's a pretty big space. I dunno what I'm gonna do with all of it. It's a good place to have some quiet contemplation, though...

Krungratrg: You shouldn't have too many torchies, though, or it'll get hard to breathe in here. Plus, I ain't a big _fan_ of smoke, personally.

Anjoltvrya: *thinks a moment* ...Oh! I can just get some metal plates and polish 'em up and have them act like mirrors! *looks around* I wonder where I can GET metal plates, or if I'll have to extract 'em...I'll need a lot...and I'll probably have extra...Oooh! *grins and rubs paws together, wrench staying between* I can make this a _garage_ and start building stuff! Yeah! I can just get some coal from around here to make fuel, and some water to boil to make the steam for dynamos, and...

Krungratrg: *sweatdrops, frowning* Um...What about that "quiet contemplation" stuff...?

…

Not a great omake, not really feeling it...like I ever am...but hey. LOTS of inter-dungeon filler ahead, folks, but I hope I don't get hung up too much on details...


	19. Trust

"So, you're back," King Zora stated as Link and Samba knelt down in front of him in the throne room. The portly _poisson_ folded his arms. "I see the gorons are finally here, but they're not exactly the right kind to handle the work given to them...But I take it you succeeded in convincing that iffy chief of theirs, at least a little?"

Link and Samba proceeded to tell him a short summary of what had happened with the gorons—their visit to the city, Clamor Plant, and the aftermath (barring Here for the time being).

Afterward, King Zora leaned back in his throne, stroking where they supposed—then, after a moment, saw—his chin was. "Hmmm...Well, he _does_ have the right to send out whatever people he wants if there actually is a need for them in Goron City, and reviving their factory, the main provider of metal products in Hyrule, is pretty important. He was pretty adamant against sending any out, though, huh?" They nodded. He bowed forward. "In that case, thank you for convincing him to send at least a few, even though..." He sat up again. "Thank you for your help. Though I feel a little less anxious knowing that our paths will eventually be reopened, it is still maddening, this strong idea that Daigorno has decided to spite me by sending a small handful—an overly-independent, embarrassingly weak handful at that." He grimaced at this.

Link and Samba nodded. "Sorry we made things little better," Samba apologized.

King Zora shook his head. "No, things are much better—every little bit helps," he insisted politely. "Since our strongest men are out, though, it'll take a while...I'm just glad all they eat are rocks."

Link remembered that the zoras were looking for Zelda via the waterways. "Has there been any news on Princess Zelda?" he asked.

King Zora shook his head. "No, I regret to say," he replied, frowning a little. Link and Samba bowed their heads a little in disappointment.

"Would you maybe tell us if you _do _find anything?" Link wondered.

"Of course," smiled the king. "I'll send a letter to you. The postman is quite competent." He nodded. "That's all I have to tell you," he told them. "You are free to go. Thank you again, and good luck on your quest with the Master Sword. Take care of it. And remember, if you need to access Zora's Fountain, you may do so at any time you desire."

They bowed their heads before getting up and leaving.

*_Footnotes*_

-_Poisson_ is French for "fish". (Yes, they spell "poison" the same. It's like "root" and "rot" in our language, sorta.)

**. . .**

After a short discussion, the duo decided to head to Kochyrae to see why Betta wanted Link to return. They ran around the huge wall of Castle Town and kept running, fighting anyone they faced in the middle of the night. Well, almost anyone. A bit after they reached the road again, they saw what appeared to be a green leaf-"haired" deku scrub on the side of the road. It was of the normal, short, head-body-legs variety, the head of which was bowed low as the legs of which walked slowly along the grass on the edge of the path. Samba recognized its kind instantly. "Reh? A Verdart scrub?" he muttered. He looked off in the distance. "But I can't even _see_ Verdart Swamp from here..." He looked at it as they approached and saw its posture, and he frowned a little. "It looks sad..." he said quietly. A second later, he nodded and slowed to a walk as they got closer to it.

"What is it?" Link asked as they slowed.

"There's a lone scrub walking around FAR from home," Samba answered over his shoulder. He looked back and called, "Hey, scrub!"

The deku scrub started and turned around to face them, looking as dangerous as any other scrub with its angry half-circle eyes. "Stay away!" it threatened in a somewhat squeaky voice, shaking its body side to side and rustling its foliage. "I-I'm a monster! You—Huh?" Suddenly, it stopped as Samba and then Link stopped by it. It looked up. "Hey, you're a monster, too. What's a monster and a hylian doing walking through the field together?" it asked. It sounded young and curious, now, hostility gone. Samba assumed it was male.

"I should be asking why a young deku scrub from Verdart Swamp is walking the field _alone_," Samba countered, raising an eyeridge and crossing his arms.

The deku scrub stepped back, making an embarrassed grunt. "Wh...What do you mean? I know what I'm doing! Th-That's why I asked you what YOU were doing!" he avoided the question.

"Are you scared?" Link ventured to ask.

The deku scrub whipped around and shouted bitterly, "NO! And I certainly don't need a stupid _human_ suggesting I am!"

"You're also unarmed," Samba added, smirking wryly but furrowing his brow in concern. "I know about you guys a little bit—you dislike humans and will attack them if provoked, and I'd say you just got provoked. You didn't even _try_ to spit at him."

The deku scrub started again, making a gulping sound as he looked back at Samba. "Um...Erm..." He was shaking, leaves rustling. He finally sighed in defeat, bowing his head and hiding his eyes from them. "Okay, I'm lost," he admitted. "See, back home, there's this old mansion that has no owner. It's an urban myth I wanted to check out for myself that the owner visited Korken Woods and never returned. So I started off toward Korken a while ago, and after a _loooooong _walk, I made it. And guess what?" he asked, looking up again. His eyes, inexplicably, had rotated 90 degrees, making him look worried, now. "I found nothing! All that happened was I got lost and the people in the village that's built near the entrance tried to beat me away! They kept using dry deku nuts on me, blinding me with the light that they make, and this one old guy in a green apron went totally ape on me! It took me forever to find a bush grown tight enough I could pull out the shafts of the arrows he shot into my back..."

Link hid a chuckle, but tilted his head. "Dry deku nuts?" he repeated. "There's a difference in what they do between when they're wet and dry?"

The deku scrub scoffed. "Duh! We'd be BLIND by now if they always made that flash when we spit them out!" he snarked. "Little-known fact: We have saliva, even though we're made of wood. We keep a supply of deku nuts in our bodies that we can spit out at people who invade our areas. Since they're wet from saliva, they're heavier and hurt a fair bit when they hit, and they don't create that annoying flash of light."

"You trying to get home, now?" Samba asked.

"Uh-huh," nodded the deku scrub. "I want to just go home, now, but I'm kind of lost..." He looked away.

Samba pointed. "Over there is the swamp," he said. "Just keep going towards this wooden fence in the distance—that's the one around Lake Hylia—and when you get to it, go along it to the east, the right from here. You'll be able to see the swamp in no time!" He smiled at him. (They'd seen it a few times already but had never ventured into Lake Hylia.)

The deku squeaked, eyes wide in circles as he looked back. "Really?" he asked. Link and Samba both nodded. "Oh, MAN, I'm dumb! I THOUGHT that was the way!" he laughed, shaking his head. He then looked up with worry again. "But I'm still unarmed, as you said," he pointed out. "I ran out of deku nuts defending myself from some of the monsters on the way here from the village...If I had at least 20 of them, I'm sure I'd be fine. Thanks, though...but I need to look around for deku nuts before I go off, and who knows how long THAT will take, this far from a forest...heck, I might have to go back there and search..." He sighed dejectedly and turned around and started shuffling off again, hunting for ammo.

Samba raised an eyeridge and looked at Link. "Already checking," Link mumbled as he rummaged for his deku nut bag. He brought it out and opened it, mouth moving as he silently counted its contents. He smiled and closed it. "Just enough," he declared quietly. Hoping he wouldn't be rejected or double-crossed, he approached the deku scrub. "Hey, scrub?" he asked.

The deku scrub turned again, angry-eyed. "Stay ba—oh. It's _you_." He stopped looking that hostile, but still was angry-eyed. "What do you want? I'm busy looking for some deku nuts—you're lucky I'm out, or you'd be looking for some, too, if you know what I mean!"

Link ignored that vulgar remark and brought out his own deku nuts. "You said 20, right?" he checked.

The deku scrub jumped and whipped his head so quickly, they didn't see his eyes move from angry to surprised, just the end result as he looked at the bag. _"HUH?_ You...You've got deku nuts? And you're giving them to _me...?"_ he asked incredulously. "Even after being a jerk...?" Link nodded. The deku scrub looked down, hiding his eyes again, for a moment before looking up again, eyes in worried semicircles again, though it might have just been strong emotion. "I...I...um...well..." he stuttered quietly. He went over, Link opened the bag, and he sucked up 20 deku nuts, exactly. He looked back at Link. "Thank you, guy," he said gently. "You're from that village, aren't you? You're different...You're nice." He nodded, eyes changing into happy crescents as he bobbed from side to side. "You're awesome! What's your name?...Link? Alright, I'll remember that! I'll tell everyone how nice you are—maybe if you stop by our village, they might give you a warning before they shoot you!"

Link chuckled nervously at this. "Thanks," he said.

The deku scrub shook his head. "Naw, that's not really a nice way to return a favor..." he muttered. He then turned his head around, rustling behind him, before looking back up. There was a pair of red cloth-covered handles sticking from his mouth. "Take these, I insist!" he said. "You could use 'em in your garden if your bushes get too feisty. We scrubs use 'em to make sure our hair vines, for those whose hair doesn't grow short like mine, stay short and not drag behind us. It's annoying to find things have crawled up your hair and have made their home on your head if you don't clip once in a while. I brought 'em thinking they could be a backup weapon, but..." He stopped bobbing. "...well, no hands. Plus they're not too great as a weapon." He bobbed again happily. "Go on! I insist!"

Link blinked at this odd offering, looking back at Samba, who raised an eyeridge with "Are you kidding me?" written across his face, before smiling nervously at the scrub and taking the item. 'I don't want him to think I just wanted him to like me or something...besides, it's rude not to accept something when they insist...' He held the item up, noticing that strong, long metal shears were attached to the handles, before putting the pair away. 'Maybe someone will need it...'

The deku scrub still bobbed happily. "Sorry if it seems like a really dinky trade, but it's all I got," he said sheepishly. He jumped shortly. "But I'm so happy! Now I can make my way home! Thanks, Mister Link! For whatever reason you and that lizalfos are traveling—"

"I'm Samba..."

"—okay, whatever reason you and Mister Samba are traveling together, good luck!" He bowed and squeaked happily, "Bye!" before turning and scurrying off, little feet making a series of rapid thumps as he raced off with more energy than they'd ever seen a deku scrub run before.

They watched him run off into the night before looking at each other again, raising an eyebrow/-ridge at each other. "Well, I couldn't just leave him hanging," Link reasoned, smiling sheepishly and shrugging. "Besides, maybe somebody we show it to might need it."

"Most people who do already have one," Samba muttered, crossing his arms. "Even _we_ have them, and we don't really _have _bushes...Besides, he was kind of offloading some junk onto you..."

"Oh, it's not that bad a 'one more thing to carry' thing," Link batted his arm. "C'mon, I wanna go home."

"Right, right..."

**. . .**

They reached Ybayba Enapu a half hour or so before morning. "Link, you lead," Samba said, hiding and switching when they approached the town. He appeared in his red ball of light. "I don't think being seen would be a good idea."

Link nodded and continued on. To his right (the southwest side of town) was the ranch, which the town was named after (or the other way around—he wasn't sure). He wanted to leave during the day, so he killed time by stopping by the inn and saying hi to Betta's wife, Tabitha.

"Oh! Long time, no see, Link!" Tabitha greeted. She looked at the Master Sword on his back. "Got yourself a new sword, huh? Looks nice!" She chuckled. "If you came for a room, don't bother, it's kind of too late for one. Sunrise'll be here in a little bit."

"Anything new going on lately?" Link asked.

Tabitha shrugged. "Not that I've heard," she replied. "I mean, they're gonna be selling some horses or something at the ranch, yeah, but that's nothing out of the ordinary." She put her hands on her hips. "What's my husband's star pupil been doing lately?"

"Oh, this and that," Link answered, smiling. 'Best not to say much.'

Tabitha chuckled again. "I know there's more than that, but I won't go into it," she batted her hand. "Well, I'd better get breakfast ready. See ya, Link!"

Link said good-bye and left. He decided to see if Kwilliam's was open, now that he had more rupees. It wasn't yet. "Open from morning until 10 at night," the sign outside said. Link shrugged and went off, stopping by the tavern and seeing its owner, Elisa. She greeted him happily and asked if he wanted anything, but he said he already ate. He _did _get a refill of Ybayba Milk in one of his two bottles, though.

Nobody else was in there at this hour, surprisingly. He was about to leave when a strange question came to him. "Say, just asking, you have any restrictions on race for paying customers?" he asked Elisa.

"Huh?" Elisa looked surprised. "You asking if we's a discriminatin' tavern? 'Course not! If they're smart enough to talk and pay, they're dumb enough to get drunk and pay!" She laughed at her little joke. "Non-hylians are rare around here; the most we get are gerudo who are interested in how we raise our horses so they can raise theirs better. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Link shrugged.

Outside, sunrise was imminent. Samba came out after they were away from the door enough that nobody would see. (Nobody was on the streets yet.) "Why did you ask that?" he asked.

"Well, it's just that I wonder what would happen if there's something we want to get that we need to pool our money for and you're hidden," Link replied plainly. "Wouldn't do much good to let you out and have everyone, including the shopkeep, run screaming before we insist that you're not going to hurt anyone..."

"True..." Samba hid as the first rays of morning shone out.

After going back to Kwilliam's, Link found that, ironically, getting that milk refill had lowered his cash balance below enough to get the map of Castle Town, even though he was still offered the discount. Link then asked the same question.

Kwilliam shook his head. "Nope, so long as they don't have fire out and in danger of burning my maps," he answered. He raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Why?" he asked slowly, drawing out the word.

Link mentally gulped, hoping this would work. "Well, I have this friend of mine who I can pool my money with and buy a map, but he's...erm...not exactly what you'd expect," he answered. "He's smart and sensible, just...well, surprising."

Kwilliam scoffed, smirking. "You're acting like he's a _dragon!_ Just bring him in, already."

Link shrugged and let out a nervous Samba.

Kwilliam took a step back, eyes wide. "Woah! I see what you mean, Blondie," he said. "Just, kid, if you're gonna magic someone into the room, warn everyone else beforehand..."

He was perfectly fine with Samba, though, and together, they were able to get the map of Hyrule Castle Town. They noticed he also had a pricey map of Lake Hylia (though they could afford it and the town map, they didn't buy it). "They say they're gonna start selling maps of Lake Hylia down there, actually," Kwilliam added when he followed their gaze. "I bet they're gonna charge a ton, though...even more than I do."

"Maybe you should bring your price down to make the difference that much better?" suggested Samba honestly (though he really felt that the price was high for a map).

"When the time comes, maybe," shrugged Kwilliam. "For now, I think it's reasonably priced for how hard it is to make big maps like that."

"It's a lake—just a big irregular shape," Samba mumbled.

"All the harder, Bluey, my friend," Kwilliam smirked, crossing his arms. "All the harder."

Samba raised an eyeridge at Kwilliam's nickname for him before he hid again and Link left out into the morning sunlight once more. 'Alright, time to head home, finally,' he thought. 'I should reach it by sundown...what with how long it takes me to get there from here on foot...' He put his arms behind his head, sighing. 'Man, I'm starting to get tired of how long it takes to get around this stupid big country...Wish there was a faster way to get around. Maybe I should just hide and let Samba do all the legwork...'

Link was going to leave right away for his hometown, but he glanced at the ranch and stopped mid-stride. Glancing back to close a fence gate behind her was a young woman about Link's age. She had green eyes and long, red hair tied with a white bow, simple gold Ring earrings in her ears. She was dressed in a white short-sleeve tunic tucked into a pair of brown pants with cargo-type pockets. Hanging to her side off the belt was a slightly dirty white towel. Over the tunic was a lighter brown vest with an extra pockets on each side in addition to the breast pocket. Buttoned up in brass, the vest bore an embroidered vine with leaves and flowers that looked familiar to Link—each was a symbol made of four sharp-leaved petals around a two-Ring target. The motif was on the breast pocket and the lapels, as well. The pants, sturdy-looking, were rolled up at the cuffs above a pair of darker brown boots. In all, she appeared definitely feminine, yet definitely practical.

She looked up and raised her thin eyebrows as she looked at Link. "...Wait a minute..." she muttered. She furrowed her brow a little. "..._Link?"_

Link smiled and trotted over, waving. "Darcia! How've you been?" he asked.

Darcia grinned and trotted to meet him in the road. "Boring, doing the same-old, same-old, helping tend the horses," she answered. Her voice was mild yet spunky, with a gentle country accent. She looked Link up and down, raising an eyebrow. "What's with the get-up? You pretending to be a grasshopper or something?" she joked.

Link chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, this is just the most durable outfit I have," he answered. "I'm...Well, you could say I'm on an adventure."

"And adventure?" Darcia asked, raising both eyebrows. She laughed. "You call running errands an adventure? HA!"

Link smirked and twisted his body around. "Then why would I need all this?" he asked smugly.

Darcia stopped laughing, freezing as she caught sight of the sword and shield. She leaned forward and looked at them. "W...Whoa, nelly..." she muttered. She smiled and held a hand up. "So you're on some adventure. What for?" she asked.

"Well..." Link pondered a moment. 'Should I tell her...?' he wondered.

Darcia, waiting for his reply, suddenly raised both her eyebrows. "Hey..." she breathed, hand drawing to her face. Then, she grabbed Link's hand and pulled. "C'mon, I wanna show you someone!" she urged, stepping back towards the ranch.

"W-Whoa! Darcia-a-a!" Link floundered, struggling after her. 'Still as strong as ever...'

Darcia pulled him a ways before Link freed his hand and walked with her. They went around to a barn and went inside. A few horses were in their stalls. One stood alone in the corner, no other horses around. "Link, I want you to meet someone," Darcia repeated softly as she approached this one, smiling at him. "She's a close friend of mine."

Link came over and saw her. The mare was a large, strong, beautiful creature, with a chestnut-brown pelt and white mane. "She's very pretty...What's her name?" he asked, looking back at Darcia.

"That's Epona," she replied. "She's my favorite of the bunch here." She tilted her head. "Come to think of it, for all the time we've known each other, I've never brought you to see the horses, have I?"

Link shook his head. "Nope—all I've ever seen are the horses when they're outside."

"Well, y'see, Link," Darcia gesticulated, "these here horses are riding horses. Most of these colts and mares are reserved for knights or other people who bought them."

Link frowned a little. "How much is it to buy a horse, again?" he asked. "I forget."

"Around 1,500 rupees or so," she answered casually, shrugging.

Link blanched. "Th-Th-That—?" he gasped.

Darcia laughed softly. "Quiet down, you'll spook 'em," she admonished amiably. She smirked and put her hands on her hips. "Well, we have to get our bread and butter _some_how," she reasoned. "Not to mention all the work that's put into taking care of each one of these guys and gals." She thumbed her mid-sized chest. "I should know, since I've been a farmhand here for as long as I can remember. Not that I had much choice after my father got the place before I was even born..." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Speaking of occupations, why are you on an adventure again?" she asked slyly.

Link bit his lip. 'Why am I worried? I trust her...' "D...Darcia?" he asked softly. "Do you promise not to tell anyone, and to believe me?"

Darcia tilted her head, giving him a suspicious look. "Yes...?" she replied slowly.

Link gulped. 'She's not gonna believe me.' "Well, it's kinda hard to believe, but..." He nodded resolutely. "I'm kinda on a mission to save Hyrule," he answered, face serious.

Darcia had to clamp her hands over her mouth to stop from laughing loudly. When she looked up again, Link was looking at her with unchanged expression. She stopped laughing, eyes locked. "...You're dead-serious," she realized quietly. She stood up straight. "You've never been good at lying to me. What's wrong?"

"I don't know for sure, and it's hard to explain," Link shook his head. "All I know is I've been running back and forth across Hyrule and it's been taking really—" He stopped when he realized what kind of animals were standing around them, eyes widening. He held a finger up as an insightful smile grew on his lips. "A _horse!"_ he whispered hoarsely, holding a finger up. "That's _it!_ Darcia, is there any way I can borrow one of these horses?" he asked.

Darcia sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Link, but all of them are taken," she replied. "That, or way out of your price range, judging by your reaction. And there ain't no way they would let even _one_ of our horses go for free for any amount of time."

'She's right—even if Samba and I pool our resources again...' Link looked down in disappointment. "Oh..."

Darcia walked over to Epona. "The only one that you might have a chance at is Epona," she continued, gently stroking her mane. "There's no price on her right now."

Link looked up in hope. "Really?" He paused, then raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "Why?"

Darcia chuckled, smirking at him. "I'm the only one she'll let ride her."

Link sighed, shaking his head. "Knew it. Always a catch..."

"She's the least tame of the bunch, and I'm the only one brave enough to ride her," Darcia shrugged, looking back at the horse. "She's also pretty insecure around other people. She's practically my horse, though we can't own our own horses—ranch custom."

Link looked at Epona. 'Brave...' He set his face seriously and nodded. "Darcia, could I try and ride her, anyway?" he asked.

Darcia looked over at him. "Really? You sure?" she asked. "She's been known to buck..."

Link shook his head. "I'll be fine," he promised. 'I'm at full hearts, anyway.'

Darcia looked at him for a moment, biting her lip, then nodded, smiling. "Alright, I'll let you give it a shot," she agreed. "No promises that you'll get to keep her if she doesn't mind you, natch..."

A few moments later, Link was waiting at the corral. Nobody else was around. Samba took the opportunity to float out. "You two old friends?" he asked.

Link nodded. "Yeah, we've been best friends since I was six," he answered. He smiled. "She's Betta's niece. Sometimes, Grandpa would let me go home with Betta and we'd see each other. She and I would play together and she taught me how to ride horses." He looked at the gate to the corral, seeing her exiting the stable and pulling Epona behind her by the reins. "It's been months since I've seen her again. Just haven't had the chance."

"Ah," nodded Samba before he hid again. 'Best friends...'

Darcia stopped by him. "Alright, she's all ready, Link," she said. "You remember what I taught you before, right?"

Link nodded. "It's been a while, but I remember."

"Kay, get on, but don't say I didn't warn you..." Link nodded and went to Epona's side. He climbed up, feeling the familiar motions ignite rusty machinery in his brain, and hoisted himself up into the saddle. He grabbed the reins that Darcia handed him. Epona whinnied nervously. Darcia stroked her neck. "Shh, shh, Epona, it's Link, he's a friend," she cooed. "Everything'll be fine, girl..." She stood back a few paces. "Alright, set her at a slow walk, first," she instructed.

Link nodded and gently urged Epona forwards. It took a couple tries, but eventually, she began walking forward. 'Is she really that insecure around other people...?' he wondered as she snorted.

"Good, now, turn her this way," Darcia called.

Link pulled the reins to the left, where Darcia was, very gently. "C'mon, Epona," he coaxed softly. Just a stronger snort. "C'mon..." He tugged carefully.

Epona's eyes flashed as the light from Link's Rings glinted in the sun.

Suddenly, with a not-quite-fearful whinny, Epona reared up. Link yelped and tried to hold on, but she quickly came down and bucked. Link, unprepared for this, went flying off. "UWAA—OOF!" He landed hard, losing a heart. Epona galloped away from him, looping around until she was behind Darcia, slowing to let her neck be petted again.

Darcia frowned. "Epona...you're acting weird..." she muttered. She looked at Link, who had dusted himself off and was walking over. "She's never done that before—she usually bucks earlier, and doesn't move at all," she explained.

'No apology, I see...' Link frowned. "I wonder...You think she might trust me a little?"

Darcia nodded. "Yeah—She must recognize my scent on you or something," she guessed. "Try coming close and touching her."

Link did. Epona stepped back once, but stopped when Link raised his right hand slowly. She felt tense under his gauntlet, but as he stroked her neck, she gradually relaxed.

"There, see?" Darcia smiled. "She doesn't hate you, that's for sure."

"Heh..." Link switched hands.

Immediately, Epona neighed and shook her head, backing up more. Link stood there, surprised and confused, while Darcia stood and watched her for a second. "What...?" she muttered before going over and calming her down again.

Link remembered that he had been tugging left before and looked at his Rings. "I wonder if she senses you..." he whispered to them.

Inside, Samba frowned. 'She might...Animals tend to do that...'

"I'm sorry, Link, I just don't know what's gotten into her," Darcia apologized as she came back over. She looked disappointed. "She's never been abused as far as I know...I dunno why your hand might make her scared..." She frowned in puzzlement as she finally noticed the Rings. "What's with the jewelry, by the way?" she asked.

Link shook his head. "Nothing," he replied. "They're just a present from my grandpa, that's all."

"Your grandpa gifts _jewelry?"_ Darcia asked skeptically, tilting her head again. "To _boys?"_

Link looked away. "It's cheaper than it looks, really," he said quickly.

"Well, maybe you should take them off—they might be making Epona uncomfortable," Darcia suggested.

"No!" Link shook his head, replying too quickly. "I mean—uh—I think I'll try later," he said, holding up his hand and smiling sheepishly. "It's obvious Epona doesn't want to get to know me, so I'll just go do something I was going to do today and come back some other time."

Darcia blinked at him, then smirked. "You're hiding something," she knew, "but I'll let it go for now. Just as long as you _promise_ to spill it when you get back, got it?" She waggled a finger at him. "And you'd _better_ come back. Otherwise, you'll never ride a horse here again."

Link bit his lip again, then sighed, nodding. "Yeah, got it..." He shook his head and started to trot off. "See you, Darcia! I'll be back and I'll tell you, I promise!" he called as he went by.

"Y'all come back, now, ya hear?" she waved happily.

'She says that to everyone,' he thought bemusedly as he turned back to the road out.

**. . .**

Once on the road again, Link got out Samba. "You think she could sense you?" Link wondered as they began jogging along.

Samba nodded. "It's plausible. Animals have a tendency to sense things most of us sentients can't very easily."

"Hmmm...Maybe if you're out and she can see you, that might help her stay calm when I'm on her," Link theorized. "Ybayba horses have a reputation for being great travelers' horses, since they're far less afraid of monsters than other horses." He chuckled. "They say they're even braver than Castle Town or Gerudo horses!"

"Hah! I wonder why..."

Night had fallen by the time they reached Kochyrae. Link had returned Samba before entering the village. He found it quiet and peaceful...almost. Snuffling about in Dorder's vegetable patch was...

"A moblin?" Link whispered in surprise, drawing his sword slowly.

Samba came out and hovered behind Link. "What's one of them doing here?" he wondered. "They usually don't hang out around towns like this..." He retreated into his Ring again.

Link nodded and ran towards it. The moblin grunted and turned when it heard the noise, but it couldn't raise its spear in time to be struck down by Link's overhead slash. After it was defeated, Link looked around. Seeing no more enemies, he sheathed his sword.

"Link!" Link turned and saw an aged man, thin but strong, in overalls standing outside his door.

"Dorder! You okay?" Link trotted over.

Dorder nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright—thanks for teachin' that piggie a lesson," he grumbled, looking at his vegetable patch. "They've been coming every now and then lately...You best talk to your grandpa about it."

"Where's Betta?" wondered Link.

Dorder chuckled. "Well, son, since you left, he's been fillin' in for ya!" he answered, crossing his arms.

Link raised his eyebrows. "But he's hurt—!"

"He insisted despite his injuries," Dorder explained. "Musta been some strong moblin that broke his arm that bad, though...He's should be with your grandpa, by the way, since they just closed up."

'Of course, they'd never tell anyone that he was a theif...' Link nodded. "Thanks, Dorder."

"Anytime, sonny," and Dorder returned to his home.

"'Sonny'?" repeated Samba as they jogged to Link's house.

"What, old guys never call you that in your village?" Link whispered back. "Get back, I'm almost there."

Link stepped up to his own doorstep...and a wave of nostalgia washed over him. 'It's only been a few days,' he thought, looking at the familiar sights like they were new again, 'but it feels like it's been a lot longer...I wonder if this is how Samba felt...' He opened the door and went inside.

Bardin and Betta, sitting and talking in the living room, looked up as Link walked in, both smiling. "Link! Oh, Link!" Bardin stood up and went over to his grandson. He wrapped him in a bear hug for a moment before looking at him, smiling. "I was so worried...but I guess I was wrong. You really are the bravest kid I know, after all."

Link blushed and chuckled. "Well, I had to learn from the best," he complimented.

Bardin chuckled and patted Link's shoulder. "Seen some stuff of value on your journey?" he asked.

Link grinned—a little smugly—and nodded. "Yeah, I bought a tunic that protects me from intense heat, which came in real handy a couple days ago," he described.

"That sounds great! How've you been advertising our shop?" Bardin wondered, smiling broadly in expectation.

Betta saved Link, hooking his arm in his good one. "Ah, Bardin, sorry, I really must talk to Link," he said, smiling apologetically. "While the night's young, and all."

"Oh, okay," Bardin nodded, stepping back. "You come back tomorrow—he's doing great filling in for you, Link," he added, leaning to look at his grandson. He smirked. "You might just be out of a job when you get back from this mess!" He laughed.

Betta chuckled and shook his head. "What, you'd replace your own grandson?" he mocked.

"Damn straight I would, if he didn't pull his weight! Night, Betta!" Bardin grinned.

"Night!" Betta closed the door behind him and looked at Link. "He was serious about that last thing, wasn't he?" he asked, a bemused eyebrow raised.

"Damn straight..."

They made their way into the Korken Woods, more nostalgia filling Link. "Let's get to my tent, then we'll meet this friend of yours," Betta said. Link nodded. Betta, walking beside Link, looked at the sword on his back in awe. "I guess my sword became obsolete, huh..." he muttered.

Link chuckled. "Nah, I still use it when Samba's leading," he said. "It's helped a lot."

"Ah...But wow..." Betta touched the scabbard. He shivered. "I just touched the scabbard of the Master Sword. _The _Master Sword."

"You'll get to see it in a bit, too, if you want," Link added. Betta's eyes twinkled.

They reached Betta's tent safely. After gathering some firewood, the two stood around a small fire circle as Betta tried to light it with a match. He was having some difficulty.

Link watched him, wondering if he should help. Samba came out and watched for a moment, too, illuminating the surroundings fairly brightly. After a bit, he sighed. "You need any help?" he asked, making Link look at him quickly.

Betta looked up. "No, I'm—oh!" He started at the ball of red light. "Wow! Is that the power of the Rings?" he asked in awe.

"I should have you out more often in these woods," Link murmured as Samba nodded.

"Yeah. Link, let me out," Samba instructed. "You wanted to meet me, anyway, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Betta nodded, smiling.

Link tossed Samba, and he appeared in the familiar flash of light. Betta raised his eyebrows at him as he landed. Samba smirked. "It's the blue, ain't it?" he asked wryly.

"Um...partly, yeah," laughed Betta.

Samba snickered. "I've been meeting some interesting people lately..." He turned to the fire and grabbed a pebble. "That's pretty dry tinder, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" Betta barely replied before Samba threw a Fire Pebble at it. In an instant, the fire was starting. Betta stepped back from it. "Wow! So you use magic, huh?"

"And Link has toys," Samba nodded, crossing his arms and looking at his companion. He raised an eyeridge. "By the way, you're never gonna let me live that tunic thing down, are you?" he asked. Link burst out laughing.

Betta smiled at the two. "Looks like you make a good team," he said. His smile faded as they looked back at him. "See, Kochyrae has been having some moblin issues lately."

"Moblin issues?" Link repeated, raising his eyebrows, feeling wary.

"Yeah," Betta nodded. "Some've been coming into the village every now and then. Me and your grandfather have been doing our best to fend them off, Link, but I'm worried they'll make an all-out assault someday soon."

Link bit his lip in worry, and Samba frowned, crossing his arms. "Have they ever attacked before?"

"No; first time I saw moblins around here was when I scampered through the Forest of Peril," Betta replied.

Samba raised an eyeridge. "They must've only recently set up a base somewhere around here, then," he suggested. "It might take a while to get enough reinforcements to attack the village...though it IS small..."

"That's not the worst part, though," Betta continued, shaking a finger. "They've got access to bombs."

"Bombs?" Link repeated, aghast. He narrowed his eyes. "Where are they? I'm not letting anyone blow up _my_ village!"

Betta shook his head. "They're just past the Lost Woods, but even if you know the way there, the ground around is very thorny with undergrowth. Their hooves let them walk through it just fine, but without steel-soled boots, we're out of luck, and those aren't easy to get around here," he explained.

"Oh..." Link looked down, defeated, until suddenly he remembered and looked up again, hopeful. "Wait! What about a horse?" he asked. "You've got one, right?"

Betta nodded. "Yeah, Arvensis, but good luck trying to ride him," he chuckled. "I can't, not with this arm, so he's having the time of his life in the village, free to trot around and eat all the grass he wants."

"Why can't Link try to ride him?" Samba wondered.

"He's a wild one, that," Betta grinned wryly. "He'll only let a very few people ride him, myself included. He's got a younger sister back home who's just as bad."

"Epona?" Link checked, raising his eyebrows.

Betta waggled his finger at him, nodding. "Yeah, her. Forgot you're good friends with Darcia...You check in on her on your way back?"

Link nodded. "Yeah, and I tried riding her...it didn't work out so well."

"We think she sensed me inside of my Ring," Samba explained, gesticulating. "After he tugged left, she reared and threw him off all of a sudden."

"I thought Ybayba horses were the bravest horses in Hyrule," Link frowned, crossing his arms. "Even if she's not too great with people, why would she freak out from a lizalfos?"

"There's more logic to it than that for her, I'm afraid," Betta smiled sadly, holding up a palm. "See, when she was a filly, Epona got caught up in a battle with some lizalfos. She's been what can only be described as distrustful of them ever since. Granted, she's only seen other ones two or three times, but she tends to run her own way after spending only a few moments around them."

"Oh..." Samba looked down and away, Link frowning in disappointment. "I see..."

Betta smiled and walked to Samba, putting his hand on his scaly shoulder. "Cheer up, Samba," he said. "Don't take it personally. It's not you or your village's fault. They were a normal roving band of lizalfos."

Samba looked over at him, then sighed and shrugged. "Still doesn't help me much..." He held up his paws. _"I'm_ still a lizalfos! Link can't ride her if I'm around, and we've gotta be practically joined at the hip for who knows how long."

"That's true, but..." Betta paused, thinking. "...I bet if you earned her trust somehow, she could cope with you. She's not _afraid_ of lizalfos, she just doesn't like them."

"How do you do that?" Link asked.

Betta turned back to him, counting off on his fingers. "Food, kindness, courage, and time," he answered. "I don't know what to do with Samba, though. But if you really want to ride her, you'll find a way."

Link and Samba looked at each other, thinking for a few moments. Samba raised his eyeridges suddenly. "Oh!" He looked at Betta again. "You're not going to tell anyone about me, right?" he asked sheepishly.

Betta chuckled and shook his head. "Nope, not unless I trust them," he assured him. "And I'm positive that the rest of my family would be trustworthy."

"Including Darcia," Link added, stroking his chin briefly. "That's good to hear. That'll make it easier for her to help us." 'That, and it makes it easier to "spill it" like she wants me to...'

"Actually, take that back," Betta said, holding a finger up and frowning. "Don't show my brother Talgo, Darcia's father and owner of the ranch. He might get suspicious of you if you're thinking of trying to get Epona and all. He can be real protective of his horses. Otherwise, my wife and niece should be fine."

Link nodded. He looked over his shoulder into the woods for a moment, frowning. "We'll come back and take care of those moblins," he promised Betta, face determined. "For now, though, we've gotta go back to Ybayba Enapu."

"No," Betta smirked, waggling a finger. "Now, you go back home and sleep in your own bed. The night's still young. Just wake up early. Besides, you've gotta be pooped by now."

Link opened his mouth to complain, then closed it, smiling. "Heh..."

"What about me?" Samba asked, tilting his head. "Am I gonna just stay in my Ring...?"

"For now, yes," Betta nodded, face solemn. "Even though Bardin knows about Jgk'hry, I think we'll wait until _after_ the scare with the moblins wraps up before showing him, at least. Sorry, Samba."

Samba sighed, shaking his head and shrugging with a wry smile. "Hey, what can I expect?" He nodded, smiling. "Well, have a good night, and try not to get skewered by a moblin spear."

Betta chuckled, holding a hand up. "Thanks, and have some pleasant dreams, yourself," he bade.

Link said his good-nights before turning and getting back home. Bardin was happy to know Link was staying with him that night, and Link...wondered how he could get to sleep with the Rings' influence. He tried, though, sleeping in his clothes (taking his hat and equipment off first). To his surprise, he fell asleep rather quickly. Samba, wondering if he could let his mind rest, tried to do the same...and found he could, as well.

. . .

_…_

"Reh?" Samba looked around the darkness about his floating naked body. "Who's there?"

_...You..._

"!" Samba gazed upwards. "Who...Who are you? Where are you?" he called out.

_...are not..._

Samba wasn't sure he liked this strange voice. It sounded calmly angry at him...

_...my master..._

Samba gasped as the world around him dissolved into an indigo on the side of purple. It shone like silver at him. He couldn't help but shield his eyes.

_...and yet..._

"...?" Samba looked as the light softened, a tinge of blue appearing before him.

_…_

. . .

Link awoke and stretched in the morning sunlight. Though the Rings let his body feel no fatigue, he still felt revitalized. "I should sleep more often," he yawned. "You sleep, Samba?"

Samba appeared from his Ring and bobbed. "Yeah, actually," he said. "I guess our minds still need to rest once in a while, huh?" Link chuckled and began getting his gear back on. Samba paused, then asked, "Did you have any, like...weird dreams or anything?"

"Huh? Oh, um...not that I can think of," he replied, shrugging. "Besides dreams being naturally weird."

"Oh. I was just wondering, is all," Samba said before returning to his Ring.

Link raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He told his grandfather he had to go (Bardin saying that he's welcome back any time), and trotted off to Ybayba Enapu. They appeared to leave a fair bit later than Link had wanted, and they reached the town at nightfall. "I guess I'll get a room at the inn," Link muttered. "I'll just go and talk to Darcia now, though..."

It was Darcia that talked to Link, though. As soon as Link went past the ranch, he heard her call, "LINK!" He stopped and turned his head to see Darcia, looking a mite distressed, run over to him. "Link, I have to talk to you," she said in a mixture of relief and urgency.

"What's wrong?" asked Link, alarmed at his friend's behavior...as she grabbed his arm and tugged him before he'd even had a chance to say yes.

"It's about Epona," she said quietly. "Hush, now..." She led him back into the stable and stopped by Epona again.

Link frowned and looked at the horse. She seemed a bit unhappy, and he had the feeling he wasn't the reason why. "What's wrong?" he asked again, looking at Darcia.

Darcia paused for a moment, looking down and away. Link could see the pain in her face. 'Uh-oh...' She finally murmured, "She's being sold."

"What?" Link gasped, flabbergasted. "I thought you said she wasn't for sale!"

"I know!" Darcia frowned at him defensively. "She wasn't! But that's just because nobody would be willing to buy her because of how wild she is..."

"Then why...?"

Darcia shook her head. "I don't know...I think her buyer, a farmer from the neighboring country of Labrynna, is offering a huge amount of money or something. And I..." She looked up with a betrayed look. "I don't think he's planning on riding her."

Link raised his eyebrows, then looked at Epona as she whinnied. She was obviously upset. 'She can feel what's going on, can't she?...'

"She's just going to do busy work, like plow fields and stuff," Darcia spat bitterly. "He's not gonna let her run free...or he is—just to encourage people to breed racehorses with her."

"You don't trust this guy, do you," Link muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Darcia threw her fists to her sides. "DARN. TOOTIN'," she growled through gritted teeth. She sighed in aggravation. "I think they're doing it because they think that she'll never get sold, and why keep a horse that you're going to lose money on?" She looked at him with a sad smile. "Link, I think you're the only other person with a good chance of riding Epona. Uncle Betta isn't here, and he's already Epona's big brother's chosen rider." She looked at Epona again. "That's why..."

'I don't like the way she's saying that,' Link bit his lip.

"If you really need Epona..." She looked back at him, determined. "...then I'll help you get her out of here if I can."

Link widened his eyes. "You mean steal her?" he reworded in a loud whisper.

Darcia raised an eyebrow with a smirk, hands on hips. "Well, I wouldn't say 'steal', more like 'give to a better owner'," she corrected. "Trust me, you're better than that guy. I'm sure Epona would warm up to you if you tried..."

Link frowned, uneasy about the idea. He saw no other alternative, however, if he wanted a horse. 'I need to be able to get to the moblins, and soon...' He gulped and nodded. "I'll do my best," he promised. 'I must be crazy...'

Darcia gave a vibrant smile. "Thank you so much, Link," she said. "I know how hard this is for you to do on such short notice..."

Link smiled and shook his head. "How much time do we have for me to get on her good side?"

"Three or four days, and tonight," Darcia replied. "That's when the farmer's gonna get here. My father, Talgo, is gonna go meet him in Castle Town day after tomorrow, giving us about that much time. If you have the money, you should take a room at my aunt's inn."

Link nodded, then remembered something. "First, though, I wanna try and apply something Betta taught me last night when I visited him back home," he said.

"Oh? You visited him? How's Uncle Betta's arm?" Darcia asked, curious and concerned.

"Healing okay," Link shrugged. "Anyway...he told me that to get Epona's trust, I need food, kindness, courage, and time."

"And I take it that last one's the only thing we got little of?" Darcia mused. Link chuckled and nodded. She clapped her hands together. "That's great, then! We'll start your bonding by doing something I was gonna do, anyway. C'mon, I'll show you where we keep their food..."

Link fed and spent some time with Epona that night. She seemed grateful for the food, and she let him stroke her mane—with his off hand. She still didn't like his left. He left later for the inn. Tabitha was all alone there and gave her greeting to Link. "Hello, and welcome to Enapu Nights, where weary wanderers wrestle worries away in sweet slumber! How may I help you? Come to stay for the night?"

In his Ring, Samba blanched at the alliteration. 'Did she come up with that herself?'  
"A few, actually," he said. He looked about to make sure nobody was around. He looked over his shoulder. "You get many customers this time of night?" he checked.

"Not really—we rarely get any at all," Tabitha chuckled. She raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?" she wondered slowly.

Link gulped, looking at his Ring. "Your husband said I could trust you with a secret," he said quietly. "Just...um, don't get mad, don't panic, don't—"

"Just shut up and tell me already," Tabitha laughed, hand on her hip.

Link sighed and tossed out a nervous Samba.

Tabitha jumped and gasped. "I—I—Uh—I'm—" she stuttered for a moment before raising an eyebrow at Link, crossing her arms and saying firmly, _"Explain."_

"I'm Samba, Link and I are on a quest to save Hyrule, it's a LONG story, so can you PLEASE give us a room for two, I'll pay for my share," Samba said quickly, afraid they'll get seen any moment in such a public place. 'I swear I'll NEVER get used to this...'

Tabitha blinked a few times at Samba before erupting in laughter. "Alright, alright, keep your scales on and calm down," she teased, making downward motions with her hands. She glanced behind her at a wall with a few keys. "Lemme see...Ah, room 4 is a twofer that's open and a good ways down the hall. You guys pay for however long you're staying, then you can tell me what's what there. I'll take whatcha got if you come up short."

Link and Samba hastily used pretty much what was left of their money to pay for the room in full for four nights, then trotted up there. Inside the two-bed room, they breezed over the situation. "So you're on a quest to save Hyrule, you guys have to be together because you claim to have to share the legendary Master Sword, which you say my husband confirms to be the real deal, and you guys now have to befriend a horse to steal it and storm a base of moblins," Tabitha summarized with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow. "Sorry to say, but this all sounds a bit crazy."

"And you're looking at a talking lizard while perfectly sober," Samba pointed out wryly.

Tabitha chuckled. "True." She got up from her chair. "Alright, I'll bite—both on this and my tongue. You behave, and your secret's safe with me," she said. "And as long as you explain it to her, too, then my niece should be okay with you, too, Blue Boy."

Samba half-eyed at the nickname while Link nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Tabitha!" the hylian smiled.

"Yeah, thanks," Samba put his paw on his neck.

Tabitha nodded, said they were welcome, and left to her post at the front desk.

"Well, here we are again," Link said, stretching on his bed. "Back at an inn, ready to sleep once more."

"Unless you wanna go out and kill stuff to get back some of our money," suggested Samba, raising an eyeridge.

Link paused. "Don't tempt me," he smirked back. Samba chuckled.

**. . .**

Samba didn't have any weird dreams again. After hiding in his Ring, Samba watched Link go back to the ranch. He spent the day trying to ride Epona again, to little success. He was able to ride better when (to Samba's sniggering as Link blushed nearly the whole time) Darcia came to ride behind him on her back. That evening, after feeding Link (who ate because it was polite, and he'd missed the taste of food a little), she frowned in the stable as she looked at Epona. "We've made a little progress, but he's leaving tomorrow, and she still doesn't trust you," she worried. "Why...?"

Link looked at his Rings. 'It's because of Samba,' he knew. 'But...should I...?' He looked at her.

Darcia was looking back at him. She raised an eyebrow when their eyes met. "I saw you admiring those beauties," she smirked. "Which reminds me—you never told me the REAL story behind those."

"Um...Could I tell you away from the horses?" Link asked nervously, smiling sheepishly.

'Uh-oh,' Samba thought.

Darcia laughed. "What, you think they'll go tell or die of shock from what they hear?" she asked.

"More...what they'll see," Link corrected quietly, looking around to make sure they weren't overheard.

Darcia tilted her head, frowning curiously. "See...?" She walked over until they were beside the stables, but still inside with walls around. "Okay, what is it?" she asked, Link having followed.

"You _have_ to _trust _me on this," Link said slowly, then tossed Samba.

Darcia squeaked and jumped back, hitting the wall. "A lizalfos? Are you nuts?" she asked him through gritted teeth, fists squeezed together as she eyed Samba warily.

Samba planed a paw with a bemused expression.

Darcia blinked, relaxing a little. "Wait, it..." She looked at Link, who was giving her the most innocent look he could muster. She looked at Samba. "Who...are you?" she asked cautiously.

Samba nodded. "Samba, from the village of lizalfos, Jgk'hry," he introduced. He bowed his head, eyes closed, and added, "And I swear to the goddesses I won't hurt you—if you don't hurt me, that is." He opened an eye at that last bit.

Darcia raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as a smirk slowly crawled back on her face. "Darcia, hand at Ybayba Ranch," she introduced. "So whatcha doin' with Link, Samba?"

'She's still wary,' Samba sensed. "Short and sweet, I'm part of Link's adventure. Like he said before, we're on a mission to save Hyrule."

Darcia blinked a few times, smile fading. "Okay, now that I'm seeing a talking lizalfos who's been traveling with you, Link, saying the same thing, I think I really believe you, now," she said quietly. She then frowned again. "Then why do you guys need a horse so badly?"

They briefly explained the situation with the moblins. "And it'd be nice not to have to run everywhere," Link admitted.

"It's not fair to just have me do all the legwork," Samba added. "Not as fun for either of us, either."

"But...it's obvious that you're the reason Epona doesn't trust Link," Darcia frowned at Samba. "You guys just told me you know she doesn't like lizalfos at all. She must sense you when you hide in that Ring of yours."

"Would it be better if I ran alongside her?" Samba suggested sarcastically.

"Actually, yeah, probably," Darcia pointed, raising an eyebrow. "That way she won't feel like you're trying to ride her."

Samba blinked. "So...what, you saying we should have her get used to _me?"_ he asked, raising a skeptical eyeridge.

"Niiiiiice horsey..." Samba cooed as best he could as he inched towards Epona, who was watching him _very closely_. The other horses were alert, but not panicking.

The humans walked with him. Darcia smiled at Epona, hands behind her back. "It's _okay_, Epona, he's not like other lizalfos," she assured her.

Epona snorted skeptically.

She let him get close to her, though. "Good, now, reach _slowly_ and try to pat her nose," Darcia instructed.

"Okay," Samba nodded nervously, and he reached up slowly. "Nice horse, I'm not gonna hurt you, I swear," he murmured. 'Don't neigh don't neigh don't neigh...'

Epona silently let his fingertips touch the hairs on her nose before promptly biting his paw.

Samba yelped and whipped his paw back, shaking it in pain and swearing in Lizalfos. Darcia and Link frowned. "Nope," Link muttered. He looked at Epona, wondering. He went over and did the same thing as Samba.

She bowed her head gently. He was able to pat her nose without a problem. With his left hand.

"So it _is_ just Samba," Darcia observed, nodding.

Samba, looking at his fingers (that he dared not suck on, which his instincts were telling him to do), frowned. "Horses bite pretty hard," he grumbled. "And I get the feeling that doesn't mean she likes me..."

They decided to have Link ride the next day with Samba running alongside her. After Talgo left in the late afternoon, the only people really left at the ranch were Darcia and Link. "Alright, let him out," she told Link when she returned to the corral to confirm the coast was clear, Epona in tow.

"So what are we doing first?" Samba asked once solid.

"We're having Link ride Epona alone while you stand around and wait, first," Darcia informed as Link mounted Epona once more. "Alright, take her around, you know how to ride," Darcia called over, standing beside Samba as he leaned on a post, arms crossed. Link nodded and started off.

Link went around for a while, finding that Epona had no problems with him on her. "Wow, it really is Samba, isn't it?" he muttered while he took her at a trot around the corral.

Meanwhile, Darcia was talking with Samba. "So it's rare that you're blue, huh?" she asked, looking him up and down.

"Yeah, same with the big feet," he nodded, watching Link.

"Who do you get it from? Father or mother?"

"...Father."

Darcia sensed that debating pause. 'Touchy subject...?' "What's it like in Jgk'hry? Is it kinda like here, where people live in houses and go about their business peacefully?"

"Sorta," Samba shrugged. "While we do stuff you guys do—work jobs, live at home, take care of children, learn...the males often train to fight, as well, but usually more as a general skill than a specific one. We still make weapons and some armor, as is evident with me," he tapped his helmet. "But generally, only the newbies focus solely on war. I'm actually a fisherman, myself."

"A fisherman who can't swim well," added Darcia with a smirk. (Link had told her a little about Samba earlier in the day.)

Samba half-eyed at her. "Yeah, well I have to stop from laughing each time I see a human jump," he retaliated flatly.

Darcia laughed. "Sorry...What do you mean, 'newbies'?" She looked at Link again and called, "Okay, take her to a canter and try clearing some of the lower fences!"

"Got it!"

Samba continued, "To keep the pool from stagnating, we still get some new blood now and then with nomadic lizalfos coming in to mate—and pretty much getting trapped by their mate, since lizalfos usually mate for life. They're a lot more savage than those born there, like me, but they tend to calm down after only a few years. They usually live across the lake from the main village, where the elder keeps an eye on them."

"But I thought you guys were way different from nomadic lizalfos because you've been settled down for so long," Darcia frowned. "Link says you guys are a lot nicer and smarter than he'd expected."

Samba chuckled. "Well, we couldn't've lasted too long with the small handful that started out the village long ago, not without inbreeding," he pointed out. "Once we get enough different families, we could probably all start changing a lot faster without nomads coming and savaging us up again." He smirked. "Not that many of us _want_ to be as tame as you humans; we've still got a fair taste for blood."

Darcia raised an eyebrow at this. "So you still go out sometimes to kill stuff," she guessed.

"...Yeah, pretty much," Samba admitted, and they laughed. He raised an appreciative eyeridge at her. "I see why Link's good friends with you—you're very accepting of people, yet you've still got an attitude," he noticed.

Darcia chuckled sheepishly, running a hand through her hair. "Nah, be quiet," she dismissed. "So, you guys say that you had to fight your elder and he was covered in this red crystally stuff?" she checked, watching Link a bit more. She called out to him again, "Alright, now try a gallop! Try and jump over the middling fences!"

"Right!"

Samba frowned, nodding. "That's right. He got real ticked off after I disobeyed his orders—he wanted the Master Sword for himself, to keep it from the destined hero...It also seems that a pig around here had some of that stuff, too, according to Link."

"Yeah, I didn't think that was Link who caused that stir a few days ago," Darcia commented. "I didn't see it, only heard about it. They just said this guy in green clothes took care of Big Bessie when she went berserk."

"He said that...that he was filled with so much hate..." Samba remembered quietly, brow furrowed. "And that other non-humans and monsters in Hyrule were being affected by it, too...There _must_ be some connection to the red crystal...but..."

"Wait until you see some third example," Darcia suggested, pointing at Samba. "It's a pretty good rule of thumb; two similars can be a coincidence, three probably ain't."

"...Is 'similar' even a noun?" Samba wondered with a smirk.

Darcia chuckled, hands on hips. "If it ain't, it is, now," she declared.

Link rode around a bit at a full gallop. Epona was behaving very well. "Hey, Darcia, you think I should try to spur her on?" he called over.

Darcia looked at him and considered a moment. "...Alright, but it's your funeral if she bucks you too hard," she warned.

Link nodded and kicked his heels into Epona. She whinnied and dashed forwards. Link aimed her towards a taller fence and she sailed right over it. He whooped and slowed her down after her boost finished. "I think she's used to me!" Link called to Darcia with a grin.

"That's amazing!" Darcia shouted back, smiling. "Just remember, you can't spur her repeatedly, or she's gonna get tired—plus she still might throw you off at this point." She beckoned him over. "I'm going to have Samba follow along with you, now. Just run around the track so if she bucks, you don't fly into a fence." Link nodded and started galloping her around the corral. Darcia turned to Samba. "Okay, Blue Boy, your turn," she thumbed. "Follow alongside Link. You can run fast, right?"

Samba nodded. "Yeah; if I didn't run alongside Link all the time, I'd be getting across Hyrule a lot faster," he said. He turned and started running after Link, remembering that he couldn't dash too much, either.

Link continued to ride around. When Samba came by, they nodded to each other. Epona snorted and turned her head a bit to glance at him, but turned back forwards to keep an eye on her path. Link frowned uneasily at this. Samba ran alongside Epona, thanking the power of the Rings that he could run so much without tiring. (He wasn't going full-tilt quite yet, but he was pretty close.)

After a few moments, Epona glanced back, eying her rider. Link had barely seen the glimpse of distrust in her eyes before he was flying off. Samba skidded and ran back to Link as he picked himself up, while Epona continued around the corral, stopping by a disappointed Darcia. "What happened?" Samba frowned, dismayed. "Everything was going so well!"

"I know, but..." Link sighed, shaking his head.

"I reckon she thought you two were in cahoots," Darcia theorized when they came back over to her.

"Well, we kinda are," Samba shrugged.

Darcia held onto Epona's reins as she shook her head at the lizalfos' presence. "To hurt her?"

"...Ah." Samba sighed, drooping his upper body a little in defeat. "Let's...stop for today, shall we?" he asked, walking past.

Link and Darcia exchanged worried glances before following.

**. . .**

"I just don't get it," Darcia sighed at the kitchen table, face in her hands and elbows on the surface. "She _knows_ something bad will happen if she doesn't leave, and she obviously trusts you, Link, but..."

"They'll be back tomorrow _afternoon_, right?" Samba asked over his shoulder. He was only in his loincloth and foot thongs and was standing at the oven, cooking dinner (beer batter fried fish, a specialty of his back home). Ever since Talgo had left, they were the only ones in the ranch, meaning Samba could walk about safely. "We could give it another shot in the morning..."

Darcia smiled and shook her head at Samba. "Thank you, Samba, but...I don't think there's any point. It'll take too long for Epona to get used to you after having a distrust for your kind all her life..."

Samba pursed his lips, ready to rebuke her, to say that he could still try, but he instead sighed, shaking his head. "You've got a point," he admitted drearily. He turned back to the oven and finished it up, then flipped the fish onto three plates. "Alright, it's all ready—deboned it and everything," he announced in weak victory. He passed his plate to his tail after making a small curl to hold it and held the other two in his paws before turning to the table.

"Thanks," Link said as his was passed over, himself sans equipment, cap, tunic, and gauntlets. (While Samba had also stripped to cook cleanly, both had taken Darcia's offer to use their bath, seeing as the Rings failed to keep them from getting dirty and sweaty.) Samba handed Darcia hers and sat down, quickly grabbing his before it fell off his tail and putting it in front of him. They ate in silence for a moment before Link raised his eyebrows. "Wow, this is really good," he complimented in surprise.

"Yeah, no kiddin'," Darcia agreed, impressed, as well. She raised an eyebrow at Samba. "That's another thing that's bothering me about this—you're so different from the big, scaly monsters that we see prowling around the field. I mean, you actually know how to _cook!"_

Samba chuckled and swallowed his mouthful. "Well, when your village runs primarily on fish, you kinda have to know what you're doing," he dismissed it. "Though I admit, having beer for the batter is pretty special around there—especially since it's usually guzzled by other guys before we can get any."

"You have an economy, you've got a language, you've got morals..." Darcia sighed in aggravation as she stabbed her fish with a fork. "Epona's a smart horse! She's got to be able to see that you're not like the others! But...!"

Link put a hand on hers, and she looked up, stopping her cutting. Link gave her a soothing look. "It's alright," he assured her. "At least her owner isn't going to outright abuse her, right?"

"Well...not if he's a good farmer, I don't see why he would," she admitted quietly. "I..." She looked back at her fish, finishing her sawing, speaking slowly. "I just really don't want to see her go, I guess...I'll miss her..."

Link and Samba gave each other pained faces. 'We failed,' they realized. The guilt made them feel their hearts were what Darcia stabbed, not a hunk of fish. Link remembered how he had failed to reach Betta in time to stop Ruedekul from hurting his arm, and Samba remembered how he had failed to protect his little sister from being captured...despite both boys' efforts.

"Thank you, guys," Darcia said, the two turning back to her sad smile. "But...she'll have to go. You took the time for me and tried your best, even though you're on a really important mission, and I thank you for that, but I'm sorry for everything." She paused, biting her lip. "At least...we had some fun and got to spend time together, all four of us, right?"

Link and Samba gave little smiles and nodded. "Yeah," Link agreed quietly.

"We should...see her one last time, though," Samba suggested.

Darcia nodded, looking down at her food, still smiling.

After dinner, the trio went to the stables once more. Epona was standing there in her stall. Darcia stood aside. "You two go first. I know you have to get going, so..." she offered, holding an arm out.

Link nodded and went first. He reached up, and Epona lowered her head again, letting Link touch her nose. He stroked her mane and smiled at her. "Thank you for trusting in me, Epona," he said, "and I'm sorry that...that we couldn't help you. I hope you'll have a nice, safe life, at least...So...um...bye..." He stepped back after softly looking in her eyes once more.

Samba stepped over, and Epona was immediately on edge. Samba looked down, taking a deep breath, trying to relax. (Darcia had given them pointers throughout the whole ordeal, such as no hard eye contact and relaxed posture.) He looked at her, trying not to make eye contact (he thought he couldn't possibly soften _his_ eyes enough), and smiled without opening his mouth. "I'm...I'm sorry, Epona," he said as gently as he could. "I..." He looked away again. "I've been giving you hell these past few days...even without meaning it. It's all my fault that...that you can't run free...because Link has to stay together with _me."_ He clenched a fist. "If only I were human...or some other beast...anything but a lizalfos." He took another deep breath and relaxed himself again, then looked back up. He tried to slowly pat her nose...and as soon as he touched it, she nipped his fingers again. He winced and pulled back, shaking his paw, but smiled a little at her. "Good-bye...And I hope you don't have to see any of us again." He stepped back over to Link.

Darcia went over and stroked her beautiful white mane again, eyes starting to glisten. "Epona...I know you want to run free, to be a good riding horse, but...it looks like that's not going to happen...and for that, I'm sorry. But I'm so happy that you trust another person enough to let him ride you—even if it's just him alone. Thank you." She sighed, looking down. "Guys...will I see you in the morning? At least you, Link?" she asked quietly.

Link and Samba looked at each other, then nodded. "Yeah, we'll come," Link answered.

"Thanks." She faced away from them. Samba caught a couple glints of light falling down by her legs. "I...hope you sleep well tonight."

"You too," Samba bade gently. "Good-night..."

"Night, guys..." she whispered.

They gave one last forlorn gaze at Epona and Darcia before solemnly turning and walking out. Link and Samba looked at each other in pain again, worse than before.

They were rounding the corner of the stable (the exit was behind it) when they suddenly heard a soft, beautiful voice singing.

_"Ooo-ooo-oooooo...ooo-ooo-oooooo...ooo-ooo-oooooo-oooooo-ooooooooo..."_

They stopped and blinked, trying to listen for its source, and raised their eyebrows/-ridges when they realized it was from the stable. They crept over to the window and peeked in. There, they saw Darcia standing and singing to Epona, tears slowly running down her face. Epona looked calmer than they'd ever seen her. She affectionately nuzzled Darcia as she sang, making her laugh through a line.

Link and Samba blinked for a moment, then looked at each other. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Link whispered.

"That Epona likes that song?" Samba checked, whispering back.

"Ee-yup." 'Close enough...' The two crouched and listened as carefully as they could to the soothing, mellow song. '...because I was more thinking how familiar that sounds...' After it finished, they peeked through the window again to see Darcia hug Epona, tears coming freely. They saw her whisper a good-night to Epona before leaving, extinguishing the lights in the stable. Link and Samba got up, Samba hiding, and Link ran back to his room, both humming the tune over and over again.

Link was so hasty in trying to get back to the room and focused on remembering the song that he didn't watch where he was going. As he ran into the inn, he slammed head-first into a middle-aged man who was just walking out. "Oof! Hey, watch where you're going, kid!" he grumped as he stumbled back.

Link caught himself on the door frame and hastily apologized, "Sorry! I was in a hurry, and—"

"What is it with you young people and running around everywhere these days?" the man interrupted, hands on hips, speaking somewhat slowly. "Why, when I was your age, I knew a little thing called 'patience'. Guess they don't teach it to the young'ns like they used to." Link opened his mouth to reply, but the man drove on. "I'm just trying to get over to the tavern before it closes, and some upstart comes barging in like his fool rump's on fire and bowls me over! Now, I don't know what it is, and I don't care, but you oughtta be ashamed of yourself, makin' a fool of yourself, runnin' around like that. You should take a page from yer old man's book and loosen up a little, slow down. Now if you'll excuse me..." Link stood aside while the man walked out, grumbling to himself.

Link frowned, then sighed and ran upstairs—more carefully this time. He finally got to his room, closed and locked the door, and let out Samba. "Okay, let's get this down before we forget it," Samba said, whipping out his guitar.

"Right!" Link got out his ocarina and tried to remember the song. "Let's see, it went like...um..." He stood for a moment before blinking, horror dawning on his face. "You remember it, right?"

"What? I...uh...thought _you_ did..." Samba blinked back.

They both blinked for a moment before cursing loudly. "Stupid old man made us forget the thing!" Link growled, slamming his fist on the wall behind him.

Samba sighed with some growl himself, walking over to sit at his own bed. "I barely remember any of it," he said, "but I know it's not the whole thing..."

Link sat on his bed, brow furrowed. "Damn...And the thing is, that song sounds familiar to me..." He closed his eyes and thought as hard as he could. "Why...?"

He couldn't quite recall the notes yet, so he worked on memories of the singer—Darcia. He thought hard...

_"Hey, Mama's trying to teach me a song she knows," Darcia said one day. She was very young._

_ "Cool! Sing it!" Link coaxed, young himself._

_ "Alright, but...uh...I just remember the first few notes of the song..."__ She took a deep breath, then sang them out to him—two sets of three descending notes: Do-la-sol...do-la-sol..._

Link replayed the notes in his head as he shifted back to the present, ocarina to his lips. He found the starting note after blowing very quietly, then slowly went down them, one by one. _Too-too-toooo...too-too-tooooo..._

Samba raised his eyeridges at this and readjusted his position with the guitar. 'That...sounds right!' he thought.

Link had the same thought, too, and remembered what came next...just the next two measures, though. He played the first four measures through again, and then again, trying to remember more. Samba quietly plucked the melody with him his second time through. As he did, though, Link remembered the next four measures, and went on. Samba followed along as he repeated them again, reading the expression on Link's face as, "There's still more, but...what?" Their excitement was growing but pushing against a frustrating wall of memory.

Then, suddenly, as Link repeated the melody's first four measures again, Samba widened his eyes, recalling the consequent. He plucked louder when they got to the next four measures, and Link stopped when he heard this. Samba looked at Link, and the two knew they both remembered right...and were remembering more, feeling the notes engrave themselves into their minds, like how Zelda's Lullaby and the Song of Penitence had.

They played the melody through together. The two only went through the A part of the melody, which was all they'd worked on so far, but that was enough. The looked at each other, then their instruments, smiling in excitement and hope.

Link and Samba had just learned Epona's Song.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Samba asked Link, smiling determinedly.

"That we should give it one last shot tomorrow?" Link checked.

"Ee-yup."

**. . .**

"Oh! You really did come back!" Darcia started as she saw Link trot down to the ranch the next morning. She smiled sweetly. "Come to see her off, huh?"

Link, giving a determined smile while he tossed Samba, shook his head. "Nope," he replied.

Samba grinned. "We're here to give it _one more shot,"_ he corrected.

Darcia blinked, then sighed and shook her head sadly, smiling. "I know you guys worked hard to do this, but...I don't think it'd be worth it...Though...well, I gotta get her out, anyway..." She went into the stable again. When she got out, she saw Link and Samba talking to each other, nodding. She raised an eyebrow. "What are you two planning?" she asked suspiciously.

"You'll see," Link said, going to Epona. "C'mon, Epona, let's have one last run around!" He set her off around the corral again. After a little while, he called to Samba to join him.

And just like last time, Epona threw off Link a few moments after Samba came up. (Samba caught his friend this time, though—only to land on his back from his weight.) Link and Samba seemed unfazed, however, as they got up and nodded to each other.

Darcia sighed. "It _is_ hopeless," she despaired, sagging her shoulders. "At least she got to have one more run..." She looked up again as Epona came over...and saw Samba whip out his guitar. She blinked. "What in the world...?"

Link watched Samba while the lizalfos nodded a couple times, then Samba started to play a familiar, mellow progression on his guitar. Two measures later, Link came in, playing Epona's Song. Upon hearing the first three notes, Darcia's eyes widened, and Epona blinked. Link played the first eight measures while Samba accompanied, then they switched, Link going as low as he could and playing the roots of the chords. They did the same when they went into the B section of the song (easier on Link for accompaniment since it was arpeggios).

As she heard this, Epona slowly turned around and looked at them. Darcia stood there, jaw dropping as they went into the second part of the song, playing perfectly. As they returned to the first part, Epona began to slowly clop over to them. The second time through the A section, they both played the melody, Samba playing accompaniment parts only on the long notes. After finishing that, Samba played the introduction again, Link playing a little descending part on the ocarina. Samba proceeded to the melody again, playing only the first four bars (accompanying the long notes again), before finishing with a slowly-strummed, six-stringed ending I chord, looking up as he did. Epona was standing there, looking at him carefully. He looked back with relaxed, soft eyes.

Epona stayed there, looking at him for a moment. She turned her head to Link, looking at him. Then she turned back to Samba. And then, after a long second, she bowed her head. Samba calmly reached up and patted her nose.

She didn't bite him.

Samba smiled. 'Third time's the charm,' he thought as he stroked her mane gently. "Attagirl," he whispered. "Attagirl."

Darcia walked over, jaw still dropped and eyes still wide, utterly stunned. "I...I..." she stammered when she got near. Link and Samba looked at her, smiling. "I don't _believe _this...!" She frowned and pointed at them. "Don't just stand there smiling like a couple idiots! Tell me what you guys did! I thought I was the only one who knew that song—I'm the only one my mother taught it to!"

They explained that they had overheard her singing to Epona and saw the effect it had on her, and so decided to learn it themselves, using Link's memories of when Darcia had sung part of it for him long ago.

Darcia stood, amazed and amused, jaw open and smiling. Epona happily munched some grass by her hooves beside her. "You know, Link," she finally said, hand on her hip, "you've always done just the stupidest, craziest stuff, and yet I'm amazed each and every time. I really should've seen something like this coming."

Link chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

Darcia smiled resolutely, holding up a fist. "Well, then, what're we waiting for?" she asked. "They could be back any minute, now! We gotta try this one more time!" She looked at Epona. "Ready, Epona?"

Epona gave a whinny.

Link nodded and got on her once more. He took her around a lap, and then Samba came running alongside the next lap. Darcia watched as they went, holding her breath and praying to the goddesses. Every hoof beat was a century while they ran around the corral. They went...and went...and went...

And completed a whole lap.

Link looked between Epona and Samba, then down at Samba, smiling excitedly. Then they went and did the fence course. Whenever Link spurred Epona, Samba dashed with. Horse and lizalfos cleared the highest fences in the area with mighty, majestic bounds. They went around one lap of the course before Link pulled Epona to a halt by Darcia, Samba skidding to a stop beside him. Epona reared and neighed—but didn't buck. She landed and stood calmly. Link swore he could feel her heart thumping between his feet.

Darcia jumped and whooped, completely overjoyed. "I can't believe it! She's used to you! She's used to _both _of you!" she cheered. She ran over to Samba and hugged him suddenly, starting to cry with happiness. "You did it, you guys did it!"

Samba blushed at her hug and awkwardly returned it, patting her on the back with a sheepish smile. "Y-Yeah, I guess we did," he said.

Darcia drew back from Samba, saw his expression, and giggled. "Sorry, but Link was kinda high up for me," she reasoned. She tilted her head, smirking. "You act like you've never been hugged by a girl before."

"W-Well, my mother and sister, yes, b-b-but not...a _human_...of any gender," Samba stuttered, looking at himself. "It felt...warm."

Darcia giggled, smiling at him. Link looked at Samba, smirking. "Okay, lover-Blue-Boy, get in the Ring and we'll see how she is when you're in it," he instructed.

"Right! We gotta ride outta town safe and sound, of course," Samba nodded, hiding.

Epona gave a surprised neigh when she felt Samba in Link's Ring. Link patted the side of her neck. "Hey, don't worry, you know he's a friend," he soothed. Epona snorted and appeared to calm down.

"Alright, take her around again," Darcia said. Link did so. He discovered that Epona allowed for less consecutive boosts of speed via spurrings when Samba was in his Ring, but otherwise obeyed him just as closely. When he slowed her to a halt beside Darcia, she pumped her fist in the air. "Allll_right_, looks like we're home-free, guys!" she crowed.

Epona, who had been starting to graze again, suddenly perked her ears and looked up, alert. Link and Darcia noticed and looked where she did—the ranch gate. They heard faint, but growing clopping. Darcia gasped and Link bit his lip. "Oh, crud, they're back!"

Riding through the gate on a pair of brown horses were two strong men. One was a tall, black-haired, brown-eyed man with a goatee in a white short-sleeved tunic and brown overalls, the Ybayba Ranch emblem branded on its large front chest pocket. Behind him was a stouter man with brown hair and green eyes, a ridiculously large mustache that covered his mouth, and a pair of blue overalls. He had no shirt on beneath, revealing his downright _bushy _armpits, to the youths' disgust. Both men had brown boots.

Darcia gulped. "Papa, and the farmer," she muttered nervously, moving out of the corral. Link directed Epona to follow.

It wasn't long before Talgo spotted his daughter and Link on Epona. "Howdy, Darcia!" he hailed in a deep voice, smiling. "Who's that brave gentleman come to help take Epona back with Jovas here? Is that Link?" (He had seen him before over the few days, but just assumed he had come to visit Darcia.)

Darcia shook her head, long hair flopping about. "It's Link, but he's not going to help take Epona back...at least, not with Mr. Jovas," she answered bravely, crossing her arms.

Talgo frowned. He stopped and dismounted his horse. "Come again?" he asked slowly.

"Epona's chosen her rider, Papa," Darcia declared, showing Link with her arms, smiling. "There's no need to sell her off like this anymore."

Talgo widened his eyes. "W-What?" he blinked. "But she's never let anyone ride her! Nobody except you and my brother!"

"Well, that's changed," Darcia nodded matter-of-factly. She looked at the farmer as he dismounted a little clumsily. "I'm sorry, Mr. Jovas, but you'll have to look at one of our other fine horses."

Meanwhile, Talgo's face was slowly turning red, face contorting. Link raised his eyebrows. "I've never seen him this mad," he muttered.

'I've got a bad feeling about this,' Samba thought tensely.

Darcia looked back at her father and raised her eyebrows. "Uh...I—" she began.

_"WHAAAAAT?"_ Talgo exploded, waving his big arms to his sides. He stormed over to Darcia, showing himself to be a bit taller than her. His fists were balled. "What the hell do you think you're trying to pull, _huh?"_ he roared in her face. Darcia cowered a bit, looking both scared and confused. Talgo held a hand out in Jovas' direction. "I went all the way to Castle Town to meet him, and _he _came all the way from _Labrynna,_ all to buy this horse! And now you're saying I can't sell _my own horse?"_

Darcia shook her head and frowned back, crossing her arms. "She's not _your_ horse! She's the _ranch's!_ You know that!" she protested. "You also told me that the only reason you did this was because nobody would ride her. But now she's got one! I thought you'd be at least a _little_ happy!"

_"HAPPY!"_ Talgo repeated, shoving his face into hers and causing her to take a step back. "I'm _furious!_ You're trying to ruin our chance of getting a _lot_ of money! And we _need _that money!"

Darcia blanched. "We—_Money?"_ she gasped. "Since when was this ranch about money?"

"Since when was _any_ business _not_ about money?" reasoned the whiny-voiced Jovas, crossing his arms and glaring at her. "Look—I'm buyin' that horse, whether you like it or not, miss! I was lookin' forward to this! And besides, don't think I didn't know what all I was gettin' into, here..." He smirked and cracked his knuckles. "There's _always_ a way to break a horse."

Darcia stepped back from the farmer. "Wh...I don't like what you're implying, sir..." she said quietly. She looked between the two men glowering at her, then narrowed her gaze resolutely. She whipped her head to look at Link. "Link! Jump the fence around the ranch! I know she can do it—she's done it before—just run at it full-tilt! _GO!"_

Link nodded and turned Epona around, shouting as he started her off.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU THEIF!" screamed Talgo, starting to run after him, the farmer following.

Samba took the chance to come out of his Ring as his ball of light form and looked back from in front of Link. "What the...?" he murmured. 'Is that my reflection in their eyes, or...?'

"Get back inside!" Link hissed, slapping Samba back in.

Darcia dashed and skidded in front of them, arms held out, blocking them. "Ain't no one gonna deny that horse her freedom!" she asserted darkly.

Link aimed as head-on as he could towards the tall, wall-like fence before starting to spur her as much as he could. The wind was whistling in his ears, and he was surprised his cap wasn't flying off. As they neared the fence, Epona neighed and took the biggest bound Link had ever seen a normal animal do.

As they sailed over, only one of the three caught the sound of a smack.

The two men ran to their horses, mounting them, while Darcia fell to the ground, a large bruise on her cheek.

"Damn!" Talgo cursed as his horse, without direction, skidded to a halt to prevent slamming into the wall. "It's too high for our horses!"

"It's all her fault!" Jovas pointed at Darcia, who was getting up with a groan. They turned around to her...

Meanwhile, outside the ranch, Link and Epona landed and trotted off the momentum on the other side, slowing to a halt in the field (the ranch was on the edge of town). Link, heart still pounding, grinned and patted Epona's neck. "Good girl!" he praised.

Epona neighed and shook her head, treading the ground beneath her nervously.

Link frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Samba came out again. "Darcia's obviously still in trouble!" he pointed out. "Something must have happened to her—Epona's got a strong link with her, so she probably feels it more than we do!" He floated up a bit, looking back at the fence. "I swear I saw those guys' eyes glowing red, too..."

Link gritted his teeth. "And they're probably on horseback, otherwise she'd be able to fend for herself—C'mon, Epona!" he called, rearing her around and starting her galloping back into town.

Samba flew along as fast as he could. "Link! Throw me as soon as we get there!" he instructed.

"Right!"

Back at the ranch, Darcia was on the ground, being cornered by the two men. "Wh-What has gotten _into _you, Papa?" she asked, scared.

Suddenly, Jovas yipped and slapped his rump. "Who's got the slingshot?" he roared, whipping around. He shouted as a pebble came and smacked him square in the forehead.

Samba growled, drawing his sword. "No one, just one heckuva arm!" he answered. He waved his sword and started running past them. "Catch me if you can, ya puny humans!" he jeered.

"Why you—AFTER HIM!" Jovas ordered, and the men dashed after.

Epona jumped the closed main gate (lower than the surrounding fence) and rode over to Darcia, slowing down. Link jumped off her and landed by his friend. "Link...?" Darcia blinked in surprise. "I thought I told you to—"

"Shut up, get on," Link ordered shortly, helping her up. Darcia nodded and got on Epona. Link remounted her.

Samba, having ditched his pursuers easily, ran over. "Alright, let's scram!" he waved.

Jovas growled, reaching into his pocket. "Oh, no, you don't!" he cried before tossing a bottle at the main fence. In an instant, the entire fence was alight!

Epona, who had been galloping to the gate again, neighed in fright and skidded when the fire swept over it. Darcia hugged Link while he held on as Epona reared and turned around. "What's wrong?" Link asked.

"Like most folks, Epona's got an aversion to fire! She won't jump it!" Darcia answered.

Samba growled. "Great, that means..." He turned to the two men.

They were surrounded in a malevolent red glow...and not from the fire. They both drew short swords, eyes gleaming scarlet as they glared at them.

"What in Hyrule...?" Darcia whispered, confused.

Link and Samba narrowed their gaze and nodded to each other. "I'll knock them off, you grab them and take care of their crystals," Link told Samba.

"Right," the lizalfos nodded. Link drew his sword while Samba readied his buckler.

Darcia gulped. "A-Alright, be careful...You know how to fight on horseback, right, Link?" she checked. Link froze. She patted him on the shoulder. "It's just like fighting on land! Just—be careful not to hit Epona!" Link nodded and reared Epona before starting off into battle.

Link made sure he held the Master Sword so that the flat would hit, not the edge. Samba ran a perimeter around them, careful not to get hurt, but close enough to close in and catch one of them. Link couldn't block well on horseback, so he got hurt a couple times by the swords. Darcia ducked down to keep from getting hurt when this happened. However, Link was able to smack Talgo thrice total. The third time, he yelled and fell off his horse, fainting.

"Gotcha!" Samba dived and grabbed him before he hit the ground head-first. "Keep riding, Link!" he instructed while he examined the body. He soon found the source of the problem after partly removing some clothes. "The back!" he exclaimed as he saw a small, clear red gem sticking out of his back. He didn't want to risk flaying him with his sword, so he stood back and fired a pair of Fire Pebbles at it. It shattered, and the glow around Talgo dissipated. "Great!" he nodded, hurriedly pushing Talgo's clothes back into place before looking up. "Alright, get the farmer, now!" he called.

Link nodded and turned around, smacking Jovas in the back. He got hit another time, but Link managed to strike Jovas twice more. He was off his horse, groaning in pain as he lost consciousness, as well. Samba grabbed him and turned him around, too, undoing his overalls enough to reveal the gem. Two more Fire Pebbles, and the gem shattered, Jovas' glow fading, too. "GOT 'EM!" Samba crowed, pumping his fist.

The magic fire around the ranch died down, leaving the wood unharmed. Link and Darcia rode over to the gate and stopped, looking at them. Samba dragged the two men over before stopping and squatting, looking at them with a waiting, half-eyed expression.

A few moments later, they stirred and groaned. "Uuuugh...I feel like I've been trampled..." Talgo grumbled, pushing himself up.

"I feel like I been _plowed,_ is what I feel," Jovas mumbled, getting a foot under him.

"Yep, sounds like you're back," Samba said. The two men looked up and yelped, freezing. Samba, giving a wry smile, held a paw up. "Yo."

The men blinked as they realized he can talk. "It's okay, guys," Darcia called, getting off of Epona and trotting over, smiling in relief. "He's a friend."

Talgo stood up, Jovas doing the same. Samba stood as well. "Darcia! Why are you bruised?" the rancher asked, concern in his voice and face.

"And what the heck happened?" Jovas asked, scratching his head. "I think I gots welts on my person..."

Link had Epona step over then. Talgo looked at them and raised his eyebrows. "Wow! Is that really you, Link? I didn't know Epona liked someone other than family members!" he laughed. Suddenly, he gasped, eyes widening.

"What is it, Papa?" Darcia asked, looking at his face.

"I..." Talgo grimaced bitterly, looking down at his fists. "I remember..."

Jovas had the same look of horror on his face as he saw one of their short swords on the ground. "Me, too..." he muttered.

Link and Samba looked at each other, recognizing what they were seeing, and nodded. Link got off Epona while Talgo covered his face in shame. "Talgo," Samba said softly, walking to him.

Suddenly, Talgo uncovered his face to reveal a smile, stopping Samba. "Wait! I'm okay, now!" he said happily. "I don't feel so angry anymore!" He sighed, then turned to the farmer. "Jovas, I'm sorry, but...Epona's not for sale anymore. I know you came all this way, but I promised that if she chose a rider, I wouldn't sell her away like this," he apologized. He bowed briefly. "Please forgive me for all this trouble."

Jovas smiled and shook his head. "Not a problem," he said. "I actually have been visiting here for a week or so, myself—got relatives here. It ain't like I came all the way from Labrynna just to buy a horse nobody can tame. And hey, I get to keep all that money for meself, now!"

Talgo shook Jovas' hand, thanking him, then turned to his daughter. "Darcia, I'm _so_ sorry for hitting you!" he squeaked as he held his hands and frowned like a bad puppy, guilt dripping off his words. "I would _never_ hit you in my life, _ever,_ but I—" He gesticulated to himself. "—I-I just felt all this...this _anger_, and I've been feeling it for a long time, now...I just don't know what came over me."

"Same here," Jovas nodded, frowning. "I just...I just couldn't see anything but the infuriating worst in people and things..."

"Well, let's just get you home, Jovas," Talgo said, turning to him. He looked at Link. "And you, boy...You brought us to our senses, didn't you?" Link put a hand on the back of his neck. Talgo smiled and nodded. "Tell ya what—in thanks for saving our sanity, I'll letcha have Epona for free. You want her, right?"

Link smiled in joy. "Yes, thank you, sir," he nodded gratefully.

"You hear that, Epona? You'll get to go on an adventure!" giggled Darcia to the horse. Epona continued to graze, long since sensing all was well again.

"Alright, c'mon, now," Talgo beckoned to Jovas. He whistled, and their horses came back. "Time to saddle up! I'll be back soon, Darcia!" he called over his shoulder to her.

"Should we tell them?" Samba asked Link quietly.

"No, not yet," Link shook his head.

"It was because of those crystals, wasn't it?" Darcia guessed when the men had left. She raised an eyebrow. "First Big Bessie, then the lizalfos chief, and now my father and a potential customer..."

"And we're also suspecting the goron chief," Samba added, nodding. "Yeah—I think they've got something to do with the whole saving Hyrule thing we've got."

Darcia furrowed her brow, thinking for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. You guys have no idea how thankful I am for this, and I think I'm going to have to thank you even more once this is over," she said, smirking. "But go on—you've gotta save your village, right, Link?"

Link started, raising his eyebrows. "I almost forgot!" He looked at Epona and smiled, nodding. "Yeah. We'd better get going—we've got a lot of ground to cover!" He bowed briefly. "Thank you so much, yourself, Darcia. We'll see you again!"

"Yeah, thanks. We'll keep you updated, just as long as you don't scare anyone else with the news," Samba added, smirking.

Darcia smiled. "Thanks. And I will, don't worry," she promised. "Oh! Almost forgot, myself," she added. "You guys can play Epona's Song in the field whenever you need her. She'll hear it and come running."

Link mounted Epona and turned her to the main fence again, thanking Darcia for the information. Samba hid in his Ring, then floated out again. "Bye!" they called to Darcia as they started to ride off.

Darcia giggled and waved. "Y'all come back, now, ya hear?" she called back.

Link laughed before focusing ahead again. "C'mon, one more time, let's do this right!" he encouraged Epona, spurring her.

Once again, they soared over the fence and landed on the other side. Once there, Epona came to a halt and reared, neighing. When she landed again, Link patted her vigorously on the side of the neck. _"Gooood giiiirrrll!"_ he praised again.

"Alright, let's get moving," Samba said after being let out from his Ring. "We've got a lot of ground to cover and a lot of daylight left!"

"You got it! C'mon, Epona, to Kochyrae!" Link smiled, and the three were off, heading down the path to Link's home once more, faster than ever before.

**. . .**

_omake_

**. . .**

***Krungratrg and Anjoltvrya are in Entrance Hall, looking at the white marble statues among the black, amorphous ones, around the dais. As hinted by Anjoltvrya two chapters ago, they are indeed scale models of their former selves—their forms as bosses.***

**Krungratrg:** *crouching down to inspect his, frowning; it's of his second form* Aw, come on! Why did they pick _that_ form? My final one looked _so_ much cooler!

**Anjoltvrya:** *smirks at him, crossing arms; her former self's form is the first one* Hey, at least it isn't your first form. Weren't you basically a _wall_ for most of that time?

**Krungratrg:** *raises eyebrow, smirking back* I was an _entire cave,_ kitten, not just a _wall!_

**Ruedekul:** *walks up* What, may I ask, are you all doing?

**Anjoltvrya:** *turns to him* Looking at our former selves. You look like you got the worst end of the deal, being stuck as a _tree_. And did _you_ really look _that_ ugly? *chuckles playfully*

**Ruedekul:** *humphs and crosses arms* No worse than either of you. At least I was still a living thing. Now, we shouldn't dilly-dally around here; the Knights of Dualty might return at any given moment, and, well...*looks at Krungratrg, sweatdropping*...one of us is sort of blocking their entrance...

**Krungratrg:** *snorts, rolling his eyes* _Sheesh_, quit _beatin' around yourself_ and call me _fat_, already...*gets up and leaves, anyway, Anjoltvrya following*

**Ruedekul:** *looks at his former self, too* ...Did I _really_ look that _ugly?_...

. . .

Damn, over a YEAR? YIKES! The worst part is I've considered abandoning this fic—it doesn't have that good of a story, to me, and the dungeons take too much work (a main reason I stalled this long was because I didn't know how to even begin planning the dungeon; I've decided to use a different dungeon, which should be easier, partly to get this going and partly to avoid getting a certain Disk One Nuke item...). But I've gotten this far, so I might as well keep going. It'll be long, given I've got college and all, but as Darcia says, "Y'all come back, now, ya hear?"

In the meantime, read Slightly Damned! I'm actually a voice actor for the Radio Play, going to be in episode 4 when it's released.

And yes, I got back to this _right_ after beating Skyward Sword, and, yes, I'm super-glad about a few things in that story that will help this one out a **_LOT_**. ;3


	20. Dwellings

Link rode Epona, Samba running alongside, down the path between Ybayba Enapu and his hometown of Kochyrae. The distance that took almost all of the day on Link's feet took Epona and Samba a fraction of the time. Epona simply ran over some enemies, Link slashing at more, while Samba charged through them in a stab. By the time they got to the gates of Kochyrae, it was only mid-afternoon. Link grinned and patted Epona's neck as they went through the small canyon through which the path ran. "Oh, _Epona,_ you're a blessing from the goddesses!" he praised. Epona snorted back, a glint in her eye.

Samba chuckled, smirking. "And you have no idea how _good_ it feels to run full-pelt like this!" he added, hopping along in his highest sustainable speed. As mentioned before, the Rings could not fuel his stamina infinitely if he dashed as fast as he could, which was almost as fast as Epona's dashing. That said, Epona herself noticed that while Link rode her, her own energy never seemed to flag unless she was forced to dash. Even so, both runners' breath returned far quicker than before they met the Rings. (Link, of course, did not notice the effect on Epona.)

Link nodded, then beckoned. "C'mon, we're getting close," he said. "You should hide."

"Right," Samba agreed, holding his paw up and hiding.

In a few minutes, Link returned to his home on horseback. He looked around. People were out and about, but seemed a bit nervous. Some commented on his horse, some were happy to see him again, but all of them were clearly tense. 'Must be the moblins,' Link knew. He went over to the shop and hopped off Epona, telling her to stay.

"Link!" Betta greeted with raised eyebrows as the adventurer entered. The swordsman was behind the counter. He smiled. "Welcome back!"

Link smiled and nodded, stopping before the counter. "Thanks. Where's Grandpa?"

"Out back, making a bow," thumbed Betta. "Whatcha need?"

"To tell you we've got a horse now," smirked Link, crossing his arms. "Epona is now our best buddy."

Betta dropped his jaw, widening his eyes. "Really?" he asked. He got out from behind the counter, smirking, doubtful. "Gotta see this for myself..."

"Right this way," Link smiled, holding a hand out.

Betta's jaw dropped lower as he saw the mare standing right outside the shop, grazing on some grass. "That's...How'd you do it?" he asked, incredulous.

Link put his hands on his hips and smiled. "You were partly right—I gave her food, kindness, courage, and time, but she needed one more thing," he answered. "Music."

"Music?" Betta repeated, raising an eyebrow, pausing a moment. Then, he raised his other and grinned. "Of course! The song that Darcia's mother taught her! Epona _loves_ that song," he nodded. "Since she knows that only trustworthy people know it, she must've warmed up to you guys real fast after you performed it. She fine with Samba?"

Link shrugged. "She doesn't hate him, and she'll ride when he's in his Ring, but I don't think she _likes_ him," he replied. He shook his head and frowned seriously. "But that brings me to why I came back here—the moblins."

Betta nodded, frowning as well. "Yeah...They're in the woods somewhere, for sure," he said. "I don't know where...you'll have to figure that out, yourself. But once the ground starts crunching and getting thick, you're on the right track."

"Right," Link grunted as he mounted Epona again. "Thanks. Tell Grandpa I said hi!" He rode off to the Korken Woods.

Link let out Samba when they had entered the woods, and the three went along at a slower pace. Link paused in the first section of the forest, Epona stamping the ground unhappily. "You can tell we're gonna be in for some annoyance, can't you?" he asked her. Epona simply whinnied.

"Let's start looking," Samba groaned. With the lizalfos jogging beside Epona, the trio went through one path.

After exploring a few sections and getting lost twice, winding up at the entrance again when they did, they found a little clearing with a moblin. Once they had taken care of the beast, Link, as he had been doing, mentally noted where they had gone from the entrance. They had turned right this time, having gone left and forwards the other two times. "Okay, turning left from here will get us lost, I know that from exploring in my childhood," Link pointed to the clearing in the trees that separated the segments of the Korken Woods, "so..."

"Forward," Samba decided, and they went on. There they found another moblin.

"You know," Link said as they slew the monster, Samba kicking it upwards before Link rode by and slashed it in midair, "I haven't gone this way my whole adventure. That first way went towards the Forest of Peril, and the second was to Betta's camp."

"Maybe we should keep going this way, then?" suggested Samba as they went through another way.

"Sure," Link nodded. They found an empty area next, then got lost. Upon turning right at the entrance again, they found a moblin in the same place as before. "Huh..."

After defeating the second moblin again, they turned another way. Link had begun drawing a little map on a piece of scrap paper, marking where they had gone and where they got lost. "It's lucky that the trees grow in such clumps around here that it's kinda grid-like," he commented as they found another empty clearing. "Makes this much easier."

They got lost again. However, the third direction from the second moblin's area yielded a third moblin. Link made a small gasp while Samba defeated it. "What is it?" Samba asked as the monster vanished, turning his head, alert.

"I just realized we're trying to find a moblin base," Link said, looking sheepish. "And here we are finding moblins in each part of the forest in a line." He smacked his forehead. "Of _course!"_

"Just follow the moblins!" Samba grinned. "Alright. If we find a part of the forest without a moblin, we'll turn around."

"We should also keep a lookout for hoofprints," added Link, looking down as they went. "Noticed the ground was a bit tamped in the spot we left the last section."

So they went on. They ended up getting lost sometimes, and once it looked like their idea was shot when they found a moblin spot that had no moblin spots anywhere around, but when they looked down carefully, they found moblin tracks in one direction after turning left from the moblin spot, like Link said. They got back on track after that. It took a few minutes, but they eventually found one last area with three moblins and rough, overgrown ground in one direction. "We found it!" Samba pumped his arm as they entered.

"Wow! I didn't think it would be that easy," Link muttered.

Samba half-eyed him. "What, you _wanted_ to spend hours with trial-and-error?" he asked flatly, not even looking as he blocked a javelin.

"Well, no, but..."

After clearing the area, they faced the rough patch. "Well, we're about there," Link said.

"Yeah...which means I gotta hide again," Samba sighed, holding his paw up and doing so.

Link looked at his hand with the rings and nodded. "Right. Epona? Let's go..." He slowly urged her forth. When she broke some thorns with a snap and made no sounds that indicated pain, he pushed her a bit quicker along.

After navigating a natural corridor with overgrown forest floor, they found a large clearing full of thorns, late afternoon sunlight, and a few tree stumps...around a square fortress built with sharpened logs jammed close to each other to form walls. Sentry towers were visible at the corners and at the front, where a large set of gates stood with two huge beams blocking intruders. Link stopped a bit outside the exit to the corridor. Samba flew from his ring. "Well, we're here," he said. "These moblins look a bit more organized than others—they can't have been here that long, and yet they've got a fort."

"So how should we do this?" wondered Link.

"Well, first, we should leave Epona out of this; look at the ground around there," Samba answered. Link looked. The ground seemed different there. Samba flew a little closer, then returned, bobbing in a nod. "Yep, looks like they've been stamping around so much, they crushed out all the thorns," he reported. "I bet it's even better inside, with all the traffic they have."

"Alright, that's handy," Link nodded. "But where will we put her?"

"Just let her go—remember, we've got her song," Samba reminded. "And if worse comes to worse, we're at full strength. Just hide and I'll hop across as fast as I can, and we might be able to make it..." He did not sound very confident, however.

"...I'll leave her by the entrance, just in case," Link decided. "But I think the next thing to do is take out those sentries..."

"Agreed," Samba nodded. He returned and Link rode forth a little further; there was no way he could aim at the sentries from that distance without much missing (or luck). He soon attracted the attention of the sentries on the tower, who grumped, tossed something over the walls, and trained their bows on Link. Link was quicker to the draw, however, and had dispatched one before he had to duck the other's arrow. He took care of that one, watching it, too, fall off the tower, then watched the gates, half-expecting them to unbar. They remained shut and barred.

Parking Epona on the far side of one of the towers, against the wall, Link got off carefully. Indeed, the ground was hard, beaten down with pigmen hooves. He let Samba out. "Think there's a switch up there for them?" Link pointed.

"Probably," Samba nodded. "You go look." He smiled and, holding his paw up to check first, stroked Epona's offered head.

Link nodded and went up the tower they were right beside. To his surprise, he found a large wooden disk with a decagon-shaped indent. It was just the right size for the Thunderforge. He reported this to Samba. "I bet they carried some sort of crank or something," came the reply.

"That's probably what they threw over the wall," Link guessed. "Clever."

"Bet someone smarter had to tell 'em to do that," Samba mused, petting Epona as Link got out the Thunderforge. The human slammed it into the socket and pushed the handle, found that didn't work, then pulled. Soon, he heard a dull _THUNK_ and one of the beams barring the door slid back. He removed his hammer and went down the ladder to go up the other tower and do the same. The doors did not open right as soon as the beams were both gone. Link climbed down the tower to join Samba, who had trotted over after making sure their horse was okay.

"So, ready to fight like never before?" asked Samba, rubbing his paws together. "It's going to be intense, storming a fort..."

"They have bombs, right?" Link asked. "You think they're stupid enough to put 'em all in one place?"

Samba raised his eyeridges before grinning evilly. "I think so," he nodded. He beckoned. "C'mon, let's go!"

Together, they opened one of the huge doors outward and stepped inside. They appeared to be in a sort of foyer. The three walls around them each had a thick door of logs nailed to planks to keep them together. One on the left appeared unlocked, one in front was barred with a thick beam and covered with a giant padlock, and one on the right bore a smaller padlock. As well, indeed, two crank-like objects lay on the ground in the nearby corners. There was no ceiling. They noticed a crude flat roof over the room before them, however. The door to it had a symbol of a bomb painted onto it.

But the first thing they noticed were the two moblins in the room. They were big, brown, and bulging with brawn. They stopped and snorted, snarling and spinning, swinging their spears into stance, when the swordsmen stepped inside. Link frowned while both him and Samba drew their weapons. "These look new," Link muttered.

"That's a heavy moblin," explained Samba, eying one. "They're bigger versions of common moblins, and they fight better, too, with spears that they swing and stab with. They can knock you back if you block and stab you again quickly if you're not careful, and they can charge you from a distance if angered."

While he spoke, the moblins came after them. Link's shield was knocked away from the opening stab, and he barely got away from a second stab by sidehopping. Beside him, Samba ducked, then jumped up with a kick, stunning the creature about two heads higher than him. Both of them hacked away at them, and in turn, the moblins swung their spears and, when Samba backed up a bit too much, charge at them. Their spears stuck in the wooden walls, however, and they had to take a moment to retrieve them. After a brief, but exciting battle, both moblins fell.

Link crouched down and picked up a small key that fell off of his. "Alright, we can open that door, I guess," he said, looking at the door with the small padlock, "but what about this other one?" He looked at the unlocked door.

Samba tried to open it, but it would not budge. "It must be barred from the other side and open only one way," he guessed. "C'mon, let's continue on!"

The next room was much larger. Straw mats littered the ground, while a few piles of leaves lay scattered about. "Must be the barracks," Link muttered.

"What, did the mass of moblins tip you off?" grumbled Samba. Indeed, about ten moblins and three heavy moblins were in the room. Samba began charging his paws with electricity. "I'll handle the meatier 'blins, you get the others!"

"Right!" nodded Link, charging up a sword spin.

While they fought, they saw a large gate ahead with a heavy beam, but no cranks in sight. They both knew that not even together could they lift it. They also noticed one of the heavy moblins, hanging back because of how many moblins there were in the way, began to back off after the duo defeated more and more moblins, including the heavy moblins. Link and the Master Sword made short work of the regular moblins, a pair of whom were using bows, and one of the sentry towers on the corner of the building shot down at them while they fought. Link retaliated with his own bow. Samba, meanwhile, was first firing a blast of electricity at, then stunning the bigger ones with kicks before slashing as normal. Link joined in with the second heavy moblin just when Samba defeated his.

Finally, the room was clear. Link panted and began to sheath his sword. "Well, that was quite an exercise," he commented.

Samba growled and put a paw on Link's arm, stopping him. "Wait—there's one left," he said, looking at the far corner. Shaking and crouching as it hid in the shadows was the remaining heavy moblin. Samba took a step toward it, and the moblin cringed. "Coward...Let's leave it be," he scoffed.

Link narrowed his gaze and lowered his sword again. "No—it'll just go and attack my village if we leave it," he reasoned.

"Really?" Samba asked, raising a doubtful eyeridge.

"I don't wanna take any chances," Link shook his head. He dashed over to the heavy moblin, sword raised.

"LINK!" Samba ran after him. "Stop!"

"And let it run off to get more reinforcements?" Link called behind him. Samba caught up, but Link shoved him off, still running. "I'm doing this because I have to, Samba! For my village!" He faced forwards again and readied the Master Sword, preparing for a leaping stab.

Samba squeaked and fell, rolling to a halt. He growled and got up quickly, reaching for Link. _"Have you no mercy?"_ he demanded.

_"Not for enemies!"_ retorted Link. The moblin's eyes grew wide as it saw the swordsman take a leap, flipping his sword down, grasping with both hands, raising it overhead. "HAAAA—"

**"AH SURRENDER!"** it cried, holding its hands up near its face in a "stop" gesture.

Link landed—feet on the beast, sword in the wall. He quickly yanked the Master Sword out and jumped off the piglike being. "What?" he asked, wide-eyed. "Did you just say—"

"Bwee! Ah surrender, _please,_ don' hurt me!" pleaded the moblin, eyes watering a little as it clasped its meaty hands. It snorted a sniff. "Ah'm _beggin'_ ya!"

Link blinked in wonder at this before yelping and flying forward, holding his rear. He turned and saw a snarling, arms-crossed Samba in the follow-through for a leaping punt. The lizalfos put his footpaw down and snorted testily, snout down. "Just because your home is in trouble doesn't give you the right to be a tailhole, Link," he admonished. He scoffed and gesticulated towards Link, wrinkling a nostril. "Honestly, what the hell? I thought you were honorable."

"Yeah, but..." Link sighed and shook his head as he rubbed his rump. He put his sword and shield away, then turned back to the moblin, hand on hip. "Alright, we'll let you go," he said. "I'm...sorry for scaring you like that."

The moblin blinked, then let out a huge breath of relief. "Ha-_woof!_ Bwee...Thank ya kindly," it replied, smiling a bit. It stood up slowly, brushing its knees. "This here big guy's in yer debt!" They saw that he (they assumed from the "guy" and voice, and just in general) was actually a fair bit different from the others. His body was a slightly richer brown, his eyes were a vivid indigo instead of green or red like the other moblins, and he had a sizable belly around his middle, making his belt sag a bit. He still bore grand muscles on his frame despite the paunch. His clothing was also different; instead of a simple loincloth, he wore a pair of ragged black shorts with a dodongo-hide belt, a small bag hanging by a cord on his side, and he actually wore something up top aside from a rusty metal collar, this being a rather patchwork vest of gray, black, brown, and dull red. He had dark studded leather bracers on his forearms and nothing on his bald head save for a few earrings. They noticed that his tusks weren't as yellowed as the others' and his odor was significantly more bearable.

Samba tilted his head to a side, approaching the heavy moblin. "You look a lot different than the others," he noted, "and you speak Hylian. What gives?"

"Hylian? Nah, Ah'm speakin' Labrynnan!" chuckled the deep-voiced pigman boisterously, belly shaking. "Mus' be the same language. Sure glad Ah tried..."

Link and Samba raised their eyeridges. "Labrynnan? That mean you're from Labrynna?" asked Link.

"Yep!" the moblin nodded, smiling proudly and crossing his arms.

Samba nodded, crossing his own arms. "That would make sense, then," he agreed. "Moblins from Labrynna and Holodrum are supposed to be a sight smarter than Hyrulian moblins."

The moblin's face fell. "Bwee...Ah guess yer wonderin' what Ah'm doin' 'ere w'these here dummies, huh?" he supposed.

"Well, we're in a hurry," Link admitted. "We're trying to rout you guys so you'll stop attacking my village."

"Oh?" The moblin's ears perked up. "Really? Hmmm..." He looked past Link at the far wall, the same one the swordsmen came from. "That there's the bomb cache," he pointed. "Ya can't get in 'cept from the front, and that's barred purdy good, as well as locked. Only the moblin general has the key, but Ah betcha he hid it bah now..."

"Great," Samba growled, frowning. "Maybe we can beat it outta him."

The moblin shook his head. "Naw, big guy don't know human speak," he informed. He smirked. "But doncha worry—there's a way you can get in, if ya wanna take care of this place real good."

"Blowing it up?" Link smirked. "That was one of our plans."

The moblin laughed again. "Well, ain_chu_ just a couple-a troublemakahs!" he chuckled. "An' it seems we both got the same idear, so Ah reckon we oughtta do sum'n. Y'all can call me Bigg'n, bah the way," he added, putting a hand on his sturdy chest. "An' Ah ain' innis gig fer kicks, Ah's innit fer survival, so iffen ya don't wanna hurt meh, y'all pals in mah book."

Samba smiled and nodded, holding a paw out. "Samba, and this is Link," he introduced as Bigg'n shook it, grasp firm. "Nice to meet another monster who speaks Hylian—well, Human, I guess," he corrected.

"Howdy to ya, too," Bigg'n replied with a smile, offering his hand to Link. Link paused, then shook it. "Long story short, a coupla weeks back, Ah got mahself lost up in 'em mountains way north-a here when Ah was tryin' a follow mah tribe," he said, pointing in the direction (where the barred door was). "Got found bah this here tribe what confused _me_ fer one-a _dem,_ so they done kidnapped meh wittout knowin'. Ah tried ta tell 'em, but they wouldn't hear a word of it." He bweed, sighing. "Ah've been tryin' t'escape evah since, an' get back t'mah own tribe, but they've been all ovah the place. Ah got no qualms killin' mah own kind—'specially since they's not _mah_ people—but they've ol' strength in numbers against meh." His face brightened. "But with the ruckkus y'all are doin' 'ere, an' iffen ya blow this place sky-high, Ah should be able to get mah spear an' tail outta here fer real!"

Link and Samba smiled and nodded. "That'd be great, then!" Samba said. "We could save both Link's home _and_ you. I bet your tribe's worried about you."

Bigg'n puckered his lips to the side, nodding gently. "Bweee...Yeah, Ah bet so, too," he muttered. He shook his head and went over to the barred door. "Here, lemme get this here door open fer y'all," he offered. With a grunt, he grabbed and lifted the heavy wood. "Honestly, usin' metal to weigh downnis hunk'a wood...what a waste!" he grumbled, letting it _thud_ to the ground. "Oughtta be makin' more weapons 'n' armor with it..." He grabbed up his spear and smiled at Link and Samba. "Ah'll be waitin' in the gatehouse fer ya."

"But what about blowing this place up?" wondered Link. "We can't get into the bomb cache..."

Bigg'n winked, chuckling. "Well, let's just say that ain't the ONLY waste-a metal they used he-ah," he hinted. "Ah'm sure y'all can figger it out. Get to the gen'ral fer now. Jus' loop 'round, might hafta get creative gettin' inta the kitchen, but jus' loop and y'all can find 'im. Jus' watch out fer 'is _own_ bombs!" He sighed, shaking his head. "Shoulda nevah told 'em how ta make 'em," he murmured as he started to the gatehouse.

Link and Samba looked at each other, exchanging eyebrow/-ridge raises. "Well, that was interesting," Link said. "And...Sorry about that," he added, smiling sheepishly. "I...I just thought about my home, and...I guess I kinda thought that we had to destroy every one of them, that they're just monsters..."

Samba smiled and patted his shoulder. "I know," he replied. "It can be hard to imagine that these creatures are capable of this kinda stuff, too. But remember, monsters are a higher form of animals, many think," he pointed out, "and we know that even animals have emotions."

"Yeah...like Epona," Link nodded. He looked at the gate forward. "Well, let's get going..."

They entered the mess hall, they assumed, to see three tables _full_ of moblins both normal and heavy, all of them eating furiously. The room was smaller than the barracks, which made things very tight. The moblins didn't even look up when the two came in. However, the sentry at the outside corner of the building noticed. It just nocked an arrow and fired.

Link was already holding up his shield and looking down the room. There was a wall built of the same sort of logs as before, but they were not as closely-spaced together. They were about half a log apart from each other. Still not enough space for either of them to slip by, but Link could clearly see the other side...

_CLANK!_ The arrow bounced harmlessly off of Link's shield, and the moblins in the room looked at them. Samba gritted his teeth and drew his sword.

"Hide! I've got an idea!" Link ordered. He started to run to the unfinished wall.

Samba looked at him with a raised eyeridge, then nodded, doing as instructed.

Link grabbed all three rings as soon as they were on his finger in mid-run, ducking under some moblins, before throwing them through the slats of the wall. A second later, Samba was standing with all three rings and on the other side of the wall. The moblins grunted and yelled, trying to stab at him from behind the wall, but their aim was terrible. "Clever," Samba commented, letting Link out after he realized what had happened.

"Still got one more, though," Link said as he drew Betta's sword. The kitchen was a bit bigger than the gatehouse. A sentry stood outside at the northwestern corner. A rough cabinet took up the western wall, while an equally rough counter stood against the northern wall. A fire pit sat in the center of the floor, a large bubbling pot over it. The southern wall held a locked door. Four regular moblins stood in the kitchen, armed with large knives instead of spears.

"And those are just their cooks, nothing special," Samba noted before Link even tried to ask if they were a specific sort of moblin. The two took care of the five enemies, then grabbed the key from the last moblin. After breaking a few pots sitting around the room and retrieving the recovery hearts within, the two stood before the door. "Well, shall we?" Samba asked, tossing and catching the key.

"Let's," Link nodded. "And this is important to me...May I—Oh!" Samba had given him the Master Sword mid-sentence. "Thank you..."

Samba nodded and gave the key to Link. Link unlocked the door, and the two went inside. As soon as they entered, a bolt of wood fell before it, barring them from escape. The room, which they decided was the armory given the racks of spears all over the walls, was interesting—a half wall stood before them midway in the room. They saw a few bows hanging on the far wall. The final outside sentry stood at the corner of the room. One other sentry stood on a tower situated against the wall, in the middle of what would be the same wall of the bomb cache, that appeared hastily built compared to the other ones. They could see the barred door from before at the far end of the room.

And coming from around the half wall was a larger-than-normal heavy moblin riding a giant boar. It wore armor on its top and bottom, decorated with alternating red and blue marks. Tied on the belt of the moblin was a large bag made of dodongo hide. The moblin, holding a bow in the hand not holding the reins, snorted and scowled at Link and Samba. It pulled its steed to a stop to smirk, reach into the bag, and pull out a round, deep blue bomb about as big as Link's head. With a pair of flat metal rings on its fingers, it snapped a spark on the fuse, which began to hiss and sparkle as it went down. The moblin gave a warcry before tossing the bomb at Link and Samba, who jumped out of the way. It blew up behind them, but they were out of the radius. Both drew their swords at the laughing moblin, who drew its bow back before riding forth at them, using its tail to smack the boar's butt.

"This must be the moblin general," Samba guessed aloud as they strafed, avoiding the beast and the arrows from both him and the sentry. "He's riding a bullbo, and he'll probably circle around, charging at us or firing at us with bombs and arrows. I just hope not bomb arrows..."

Link knew that fighting with his sword wasn't going to work as well as before. And as he got hit in the shoulder by an arrow, he realized that he'd have to take care of annoyances first. "Samba, distract him while I get the sentry!" he called, grabbing his own bow.

"Right!" Samba shouted at the general and waved his sword. "Over here, bonehead!" he called. The general came towards him. Samba jumped aside as the beast came at him, but then found a bomb right there—with a fairly short fuse. "MEEP!" Samba trotted back, but he started a little too late—the bomb exploded, blowing him to his stomach and harming him for a full heart of damage.

Link, meanwhile, was quickly aiming at the sentry, which was aiming at him. Link fired just before the sentry, who didn't duck while Link did. After the moblin fell from its perch and was defeated, Link turned to Samba. "You okay?" he asked. An arrow whizzed past his face and the general shouted, refocusing Link's attention.

"Yeah..." grumbled the lizalfos, getting up. "That hurts..."

Link frowned. "Should we attack the bullbo?" he asked. He slashed at the general as it passed, but his sword clanked off the armor as expected. He rolled out of the way before the bomb went off.

"No, that'll take ages, and it's kinda cruel," Samba replied, avoiding a charge. "Bullbos are tough suckers."

Link avoided more arrows, then another charge. He saw another bomb tossed behind the general and got an idea. "I think I got it," he called. He ran over to Samba. "Try and slow him down with Volt Claw!"

"Right!" Samba nodded, and he cast the spell after avoiding another pass by Link, holding both paws at the moblin. Its armor was, indeed, magnetic, probably being simple iron, and the moblin yelped as it was pulled back, fighting against being taken off the bullbo. The bullbo, whose reins were being pulled back, as well, thought it had to stop, so it did.

While Samba did that, Link ran over to the bomb it had dropped. Samba let go for a moment, and the moblin had to take a moment to get its balance back. In that amount of time, Link had grabbed the bomb and thrown in to the general. It exploded almost as soon as it hit. The moblin yelled in pain while the bullbo took off from the explosion. Some armor was blown away from the general's body.

"We got it!" Link grinned, pumping his arm in victory. "Dodge, pull, bomb!"

And this strategy was employed to great use, as well as the fact that, occasionally, it failed to stop before slamming into a wall, causing the bullbo to get its tusks stuck. This happened the second time Link threw a bomb at it. The general tried to make things harder by firing more arrows and actually throwing bombs, but in the end, it was bombed thrice total before all of its armor was gone. Link knew he could probably slash at it if he needed to, but there was little point when he could blow it up with its own weapons. However, the general moved quicker now that its armor was removed, and it was unaffected by Volt Claw.

However, it had become enraged by then. The last bomb blast had destroyed its bow, so now it charged, tossing a bomb sometimes. Link and Samba knew exactly what to do, however. They jumped aside when the bullbo charged at them, and the poor thing caught its tusks in the wooden wall behind them again. Meanwhile, Link had run around back to grab a thrown bomb. With a shout, Link threw the bomb at the general.

It exploded on its bare back, causing it to yowl in agony. It swayed uneasily, turning the bullbo around, giving a weaker cry. It saw Samba before it and, with a final, pained roar, sent the bullbo charging. Samba ran aside easily, and the bullbo, rider and all, crashed headlong into the sentry tower, toppling it over them. As it did, they saw something odd—a large plate of iron nailed haphazardly to the top of the wall. It looked like a big pot lid. Link and Samba heard a clunking rustle and looked back at the pile. The bullbo, giving an annoyed cry, was pulling its way out. A bag was caught on one tusk. It snorted and tossed its head, throwing the bag off and away. The beast disappeared around the half wall for a moment before giving a cry and charging straight out the barred door from before, demolishing it.

_"BWEE!_ WATCH it!" they heard Bigg'n shout.

Link looked back at the bag on the ground. It was the dodongo hide bag the general had! Link happily ran over to it and picked it up, holding it in his hands and smiling at it. "A bomb bag!" he crowed. "Time to blow stuff up!" He looked inside. "It's only got a few left...but there's a pair of those rings sized for humans..." He put the rings onto his thumb and index finger. "Sheesh, just when you thought you had enough jewelry..."

"And let's start with here," Samba suggested, going to the rubble. Using Volt Claw, he pulled off the plate. As he suspected, there was a big hole behind it. "Looks like they couldn't get logs all the same size," he guessed. He pointed back at it. "Alright, gimme a second to leave, then throw the bomb through that opening, hide, and we'll get outta here. Okay?"

Link nodded. "I'll wait here. We'll activate Sync Mode, then you just switch when you're ready," he said.

Samba nodded and trotted off after they did so, having the Master Sword. He noticed that behind the half wall were some targets—probably an archery range. He took care of the sentry that still stood there, then turned and went out the now-open door. Bigg'n held a hand up as the lizalfos approached. "Headin' off?" he asked.

"Yeah," nodded Samba, pausing. "We're about to blow this place to tiny little bits. You might wanna get running. Why'd you wanna wait for us?" he asked.

"Ta make sure you got the job done!" laughed the moblin. "Tell yer friend Ah said bye! Ah gotta git back up north an' home! Bye!" With that, the paunchy pigman was gone, running out the doors.

Samba watched him with a raised eyebrow. "Why do I have the feeling that's not the last we're gonna see of Bigg'n?" he muttered. He shrugged and ran out the doors, too, going to Epona. She looked restless. "You fine, girl?" he asked softly, petting her mane. "Alright, Link'll be here in a sec. Don't worry. We'll get outta here before things get too hairy." He turned and held up his Rings. "Alright, let 'er rip!" he called, switching.

"Got it!" Link replied, getting the sword. He pulled out a bomb (not wondering how such large objects can fit in such a small bag) and snapped his fingers over the fuse as soon as he did. It went longer than the other bombs did, but that was all the better. Holding the bomb over his head, Link threw it through the hole, then quickly switched and hid. Samba let him out as soon as he had, tossing him up onto Epona, who grunted in surprise when Link suddenly fell sitting on top of her. As Samba hid again, Link reared Epona to turn down the path. "GOGOGO!" he urged, and they were off.

A moment later, the fort behind them was rocked by numerous explosions that crescendoed and accelerated until finally, the entire building exploded in an enormous blast.

Back in the village, Betta, carrying a couple bows into the shop, stopped and looked as a distant boom was heard. He waited a few moments, then saw black puffs drift up, his smile rising as the smoke did. "They did it," he whispered proudly. "I knew they would."

Link let them get lost soon after reentering the woods, and they found themselves back at the beginning in minutes. The sun was beginning to set. Link mopped his brow. "It's been a long day," he muttered.

"LINK!" called Betta, catching Link's attention. He waved by the shop, smiling. Link returned the expression and rode over.

"That was fantastic," Betta complimented once him and Link were behind the shop, Epona parked in front. Link had let out Samba on Betta's request. "I saw the smoke rising from the forest, and I knew you'd done it. Blown them and their bombs sky-high, huh?"

Link smiled broadly and nodded. "Yep," he confirmed. "Samba and I took care of 'em all."

"Did you see a large moblin run out of the forest a bit ago?" Samba wondered.

Betta shook his head. "Nope. Nobody's said anything about them all day," he replied. "And they never will again!" He patted each of their shoulders in turn. "Good job, Link, Samba! We'll be fine now, thanks to you two! You have my deepest gratitude!"

Link and Samba smiled sheepishly for a moment. Suddenly, Link paled. "Uh..."

Samba, then Betta followed his gaze. Right behind them was Bardin. The old shopkeep was standing there, blinking as he looked at Samba. "Uh..." Samba copied.

Bardin sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but we're out of meat," he apologized to Samba. Samba raised his eyeridges, and Bardin chuckled, walking over. "What, you forget that I knew that some lizalfos were good after what Betta told me about his friend Ko?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Link and Samba breathed sighs of relief. "I thought you were gonna freak or something," Link said shakily. "Well, Grandpa, this is my friend, Samba," he introduced. "Samba, my grandfather, Bardin."

Samba bowed a bit. "How do you do, Bardin?" he greeted, smiling. He held out his paw.

Bardin smiled and took it. "Doing well, at least if you're going to buy something," he replied, and he laughed. "So, you two got a place to rest for tonight?" asked the old man. "I mean, there's an awful lot of stories to catch up on..."

Link shook his head. "Sorry," he smiled, "but we should get—" He stopped when his grandfather gave him The Look. "—uh, I mean, yeah, you're right, there is," he agreed nervously, grinning.

Bardin smiled and nodded. "Good! And until then, why don't you help out around here?" he suggested. "Give ol' Betta some rest." He waggled a finger, winking. "And Betta told me how those Rings work—I know you can keep going even after all that."

Link sighed, hanging his arms. "Yes, Grandpa," he groaned. He beckoned to Samba. "C'mon, Samba, you're gonna have to hide for a while..."

Samba sighed, nodding. "Right, right..."

He had just raised his paw when Bardin grabbed it. "Ohhhh, _no,_ you don't," he snickered. "You're not gonna just let your friend do ALL the work. What skills you got?"

Samba blinked, incredulous. "But...I'm a lizalfos," he protested quietly. "People'll be scared of me and panic..."

"Not if Betta's by you," Bardin pointed out. "Besides, I bet you could learn a thing or two talkin' with a master swordsman like Betta. So? What can ya do, kid?"

Samba looked at Link with his eyes, pleading. Link held up his hands, shaking his head. "Since when have _you_ been able to stop your parent?" he asked.

He looked at Betta. The swordsman chuckled. "Better than sitting and doing nothing, right?" he asked.

Samba sighed in defeat. "You guys have a river or pond around here?" he asked.

So the rest of the day was spent working, much to the duo's dismay. Link, changing back into his work clothes, helped with the shop, while Betta went around with Samba, who went to a small river running by the village. The river, Samba noticed, came from Korken Woods, and he remembered how, from description, there was water in the Forest of Peril, and wondered if this were the same water. He saw that the river ran through a small cave that ended up in a deep pond enclosed by trees and high shores. "That must be how Link knows how to swim," he guessed, pointing at it as him and Betta reached it.

"Yeah, the water goes back out in an underground opening and ends up going to the Great Bay," Betta nodded.

Samba bit his lip as he saw Mari, one of the villagers, gasping at the sight of him. "I wish _I_ could go out underground right now," he murmured.

Betta followed his gaze and smiled, waving at Mari. She hesitated, then turned back, walking home briskly. "Don't worry, these guys'll be alright with you soon enough," he assured Samba. "That's the real reason Bardin wanted you to do some work."

"Oh?" Samba asked, looking at the river again. There appeared to be some fish. He got out his fishing rod.

"Yeah." Betta watched Samba cast his lure into the river and sit. He sat next to him. "I told Bardin about you guys, your village, shortly before Link left. Told him how I'm friends with Ko. He told me to say hi, by the way."

"Heh," Samba smiled a little. "You tell him about our little adventure today?"

"Not yet," Betta shook his head. "I will later."

Samba and Betta sat in silence a moment.

_"Since when have _you_ been able to stop your parent?"_

Samba watched the water run by, reflecting him brokenly, as he recalled those words Link said a few minutes ago. 'Never,' he replied in his mind. 'And oh, I wish I could...'

**. . .**

Ybir raised her eyeridges in slight surprise. "What do you want to talk about behind his back?" she asked in a bit of disappointed shock.

"Mom?" Ybir looked at Vardi. Vardi looked at Samba, who was looking down at Lullaby with a sad frown. "He means _him_."

Ybir's features slowly softened, melting into one that looked like Samba's when he came up with his new pet's name. "...Oh..."

Samba moved his tail and gently stroked Lullaby's pelt. "...It's...It's been..." he murmured. He shook his head. "I don't even remember _how_ many years it's been..."

Ybir sighed and rested a paw on Samba's knee. "Sweetie, I've told you not to worry about him," she said quietly. "He's on an important journey."

Samba scowled at her. "For years?" he asked, a little heat in his tone. "For over eight years? He wasn't even around to see my little sister hatch!"

Vardi frowned. "I'm okay with not seeing my dad," she said in a small voice. "I've got Mom and you."

Samba sighed and smiled down at her, eyeridges knit. "I know, Vardi," he acknowledged, "but that's just the point..." He sighed and looked back down at Lullaby. "He's been failing as a father...leaving me to do the same job for you."

Vardi looked down. "I'm sorry," she apologized quietly.

Samba looked up quickly, smiling and shaking his head. "Nonono, it's not your fault," he insisted. "It's his. I just wanna know..." He looked at his mother square in the eye. "...No more lies. What was so important that he abandoned his family?"

Ybir snarled and slammed a paw on the table. "Your father did _not_ abandon us!" she half-roared. Vardi cringed. "There is not a single shred of cowardice in that man's body! And don't you tell me otherwise," she added, pointing at him with a Kubrik stare. "I've known him for longer than you've been _alive."_

Samba's heart raced as his mother yelled at him, but he narrowed his gaze and looked at her full-on. "Why did he go?" he demanded. "If it wasn't cowardice, then what was it? Don't tell me 'it's something important' again, either."

Ybir huffed a moment, glaring at her son. Samba glared right back. Vardi watched, half hiding under the table, as the two held a tense staring contest. At last, Ybir sighed and sat back, closing her eyes. "You won't like the truth," she warned.

"But it's better than a lie, isn't it?" fought back Samba.

Ybir nodded. After a moment, she looked up again, making eye contact with Samba. "I don't know," she finally answered.

Samba blinked. "What?" he asked. "Don't know what?"

"What his journey is for," she said. She looked out the window. "I asked and asked, but...he just said that it would be good for all of us. That he needed to do it. That we shouldn't worry..." She sighed deeply.

Samba looked with her. "Is he...dead, you think?" he asked quietly.

Ybir shook her head. "No. I'd know it, otherwise...I swear I would." She put a paw to her chest as she said this.

Samba scoffed. "So he's still out there," he said. "Whatever's keeping him had _better_ be good..." He clenched a fist.

"If he's still in Hyrule, you guys might find him," pointed out Vardi after a moment of awkward silence.

Samba smiled at her. "Thanks...We just might," he agreed quietly.

"And there's your partner," Ybir said. She looked at Samba and raised her eyeridges. Samba grunted in surprise when she dabbed a cloth around his eyes. "You were right. He didn't need to hear all this..."

Samba gave a small smile. "Thanks..."

**. . .**

A tug on his pole brought Samba out of his memories. He growled and stood, pulling in the fish. In a few more seconds, he was holding up a trout. "Huh...These don't come around Jgk'hry," he murmured, placing it in his fish bag.

"You okay?" Betta asked. He frowned. "You looked pretty pensive there..."

"Yeah," Samba smiled. "I'm fine. Just...thinking, is all. Lots to think about these days."

"Heh...I'll bet." Betta beckoned. "C'mon, let's get to another spot..."

**. . .**

The evening was spent talking to Bardin, recollecting their tale to him and Betta around the dinner table while they ate some fresh venison and vegetables. "Wow," Bardin laughed at the end of it, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms. "That's quite a story."

"And it's only going to get longer," Betta added, chuckling. "I mean, you guys need to get these Tools of Nations, huh? Doncha guys got, like, a lot left to go?"

Link and Samba nodded. "Yeah, and it's going to take a while," Link agreed, a little wry about the prospect.

"And we _still_ haven't a clue where Zelda is," Samba growled. He and Link were, like at Darcia's the night before, dressed down to be more comfortable. The lizalfos chomped some meat and chewed it, pouting. "We don't know where to go, next, either."

"Yeah, now that the crisis here has been solved," Link frowned.

"Then why not ask around folks who might know more about tales like this?" suggested Bardin. "Maybe Ko's gotten some more research done." He looked at Betta. "Hey, you got that Gossip Stone, right, Gimpy?"

Betta frowned. "Hey! I'm not THAT disabled!" he protested. "It's just my forearm that's hurt...But yeah..." He brought out a Gossip Stone pendant, the stone looking like Ko's, and held it in his palm. He focused for a moment, then the stone glowed light blue. "Ko? Can you hear me?" he asked it.

A moment later, the stone glowed brighter. "Yes?" Ko's voice replied, sounding somewhat distant, echoing a little. "I'm in the middle of supper—not like it's very much, but still..."

Betta snickered. "Sorry, but I've got Link and Samba here with me right now," he explained.

"Really? !" Ko exclaimed. "I can pause supper for them! Good evening, you two!"

Link and Samba chuckled and greeted him back. "We're kinda stuck, Ko," Link said. "We just took care of the moblin threat here, but without the princess, we dunno where to go next."

"You have any idea where the other Tools of Nations are?" Samba asked.

Ko hummed in thought. "Not yet, but I think I can find out what the matching materials are, at least," he replied. "I'll look into it tonight. You're all the way at the other end of Hyrule, right? I should have it figured out by the time you get here."

"Great! We'll head back to Jgk'hry tomorrow morning," planned Link, clapping his hands. "We've got a horse, now, so things should go a lot quicker. I'm getting tired of going back and forth between the ends of Hyrule, though..." he added in an undertone.

"Well, suck it up," Bardin ordered curtly, crossing his arms. "You've gotta do this, so you've gotta take it like a man."

"Oh, is that Bardin?" Ko asked.

"Yep, Link's grandfather and the best salesman in Hyrule," Bardin confirmed, nodding with a proud smile. "Thanks for helping my grandson, by the way."

"No problem! Thank you for raising him so well!" Ko replied. "He and Samba make good partners, despite their species." Link and Samba laughed sheepishly and looked at each other. "Oh, and I just thought of something, boys," Ko added, drawing attention back to the stone. "Why not ask some of the Leviathans about their thoughts on the locations of the next Tools of Nations?"

"Maybe." Link held his chin. "They might not be able to help as much as we'd like, but it's better than nothing."

"Alright. Is that all, then?" Ko asked. "If I'm going to get some research done, I'd better finish my food quickly."

"Yeah, we'll letcha go, Ko," Betta smiled. "Thanks a lot for the help."

"Not a problem! See you later, Samba, Link!" Ko said. The stone lost some of its glow again.

"Welp," Betta said, grasping the stone, extinguishing its glow, and putting it away, "it's been a long day for all of us; let's finish up dinner and get to bed."

**. . .**

The world was blurry, surreal. Samba peeked from behind a door at two taller figures arguing. One was slender, another sturdy. Their features were fuzzy, too far to make out well. They spoke in Hylian.

"Why?" asked the slender one. "What about your child—your children?"

"I know," the sturdy one said, shaking its head. "But...I have to do this..."

They argued for a few moments, Samba unable to register their words as his eyes swam with tears and he covered his ears. When he looked up again, they were holding each other. "I promise to you, I'll be back," swore the sturdy figure. "Please take care of them for me while I'm gone. I'm sorry."

"I will," the slender one nodded gently. "And...just...don't break that promise."

"You know as much as I...It's my duty..." the sturdy one replied. It turned and left out the door, the slender one reaching after but staying put.

The slender one sank to its knees slowly and clasped its hands.

The days passed outside quickly. The figure stayed there, waiting at the front door. Weeks passed. The figure slowly held its face as weeks turned to months.

"Why..." whispered Samba, closing his eyes.

**. . .**

Samba yawned and stretched as he woke up, feeling rejuvenated. He sat up and looked around. Sofa, small table, fireplace, chair, bookcase, glass window, wood everywhere. He looked out the window. Another late spring day. The lizalfos sighed. "I don't know," he answered with mouth, not voice.

"Samba?" Samba looked and saw Bardin pausing by the doorway. He frowned at him. "Are you alright? You look a bit...down."

Samba sighed and shook his head. "Just a sad dream," he replied. He stood and stretched. "Is Link up yet?"

"Yes, he's making a light breakfast for you two," Bardin nodded, thumbing over his shoulder. He walked over and patted Samba's scaly shoulder, smiling. "I've gotta get to the shop and open up, so this is my good-bye to you for now, Blues," he said. "And don't worry—I'm sure the village knows that you're harmless now after yesterday. You don't have to hide anymore when you're here."

"Thanks," Samba smiled back. "It was nice meeting you, Bardin."

Bardin chuckled and patted his shoulder again, then turned. "See ya, Blues," he called over his shoulder as he moved out the door.

Samba frowned and crossed his arms when he left. "Seriously, is my color _that_ distinctive?" he grumbled.

After eating some eggs that Link made, the duo left (Link locking the door behind him). As Samba walked alongside Link and Epona, the other villagers gave them unsure looks. As they passed by Mari and her two boys, the children ran over to the lizalfos, their mother following, calling, "Yan, Cor!" admonishingly.

"Are you friends with Link, Mr. Monster?" asked Cor.

"You look really cool, Mr. Monster!" praised Yan.

"Yeah, and thanks," Samba replied, smiling nervously, stopping to talk. Link paused Epona and chuckled at the two boys.

Mari came over and held her children to her protectively, looking at Samba in the eyes, wary. "I saw you with Betta the other day," she said quietly. "But that doesn't mean I completely trust you." She looked over at Link. "You'll keep an eye on...him, right, Link?" she asked.

Link bit his lip and blushed at Samba, who was narrowing his eyes. "Uh..."

"Madam," Samba said, and Mari looked at him again. Samba gave her a steady gaze. "I assure you, I have absolutely no intentions of harming your children. In fact, I have a little sister around their age. I know how you'd feel if they were hurt. _Trust _me." He bowed his head. "Please."

Mari blinked at this.

"Mama?" Yan asked, looking up at her. She looked down at them.

"I think we can trust Mr. Monster," Cor said. "He said he's friends with Link, and Link doesn't make friends with bad people."

"Yeah!" Yan agreed, nodding and clenching his fists. "He's not friends with that mean kid Barker on the other side of town!"

Mari gave a little laugh, smiling. "That's right," she said. She looked up at Samba apologetically. "I'm...I'm sorry, uh..."

"Samba," he supplied, smiling gently. "And that's alright, I understand." He looked down at the boys, who beamed up at him. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to my children if I—" He paused, blinking. "I mean...to my sister, either."

Mari chuckled. "Is your sister like a daughter to you, then?" she asked, bemused. "That can happen with siblings a lot younger than you. My big sister was like a mother to me, after all."

"Heh..." Samba looked up at the sky. "I guess so..."

They said their good-byes, then Samba resumed walking with Link. "Sorry about that," apologized Link, face reddish. "Mari is a little protective of her kids."

"Is she an only mother?" asked Samba. Link nodded, and Samba sighed, looking at his feet as he walked. "I know how she feels, then, I guess..."

Link watched him with a frown. "Are you okay?"

Samba shook his head. "I'm fine," he said, smiling at Link. "Just...was an interesting experience, is all."

Others who they passed by were a bit better: "So, I hear ya helped Link fight off them moblins! Thanks! Anythin' that hates them troublemakers is a friend o' mine!" "I saw you with Betta—so I guess you're okay? Uh...Nice to meet you, I guess..." "You're kinda like the zoras—weird-looking but nice inside. I-I mean, no offense!" "Ha-ha! You've got really big feet! ...Huh? Sure, I wanna play, but what's 'kickball'?" "Wow, you can talk? I didn't know lizalfos even COULD talk...What? You guys have your own language? Wow!" "You don't think humans look weird because they don't have tails, do you? No? Phew...Oh, that's just how some lizards reacted in a story I like..." "Y...You've got...pretty scales...And nice eyes...Eep! No, I'm not—I'm...I'm just trying to compliment you! Y'know, uh, be friendly!" "Nice hat."

"There are a lot more people here than I'd thought there'd be," commented Samba as they exited Kochyrae and began to run a little. "I mean, there are less houses than in Jgk'hry..."

"Big families," Link replied wryly. "Lots of friends. We're going to build more houses, soon."

"What does your village do?" wondered Samba. "Ours relies on fishing and trading our potions with the gorons to be self-sufficient...though we don't need to worry much about money since we barely need to trade...'cept we kinda have to trade for all our wood..."

Link raised an eyebrow. 'Hmmm...' He lowered it again and smiled. "Well, we're actually kinda tied closely to our sister village, which gets _way_ more money than we do, thanks to Ybayba Ranch. They make money off of the ranch and smaller ranches and farms, but we get our money by supplying most of the kingdom with wood."

"Really? I didn't see many stumps in the Korken Woods," muttered Samba.

"That's 'cause we do it elsewhere, and we always replant when we cut," Link explained. "And the woods are so huge, and the trees there regrow so amazingly fast, we're not in danger of harming their ecosystem as much as other places. Meanwhile, the ranch supplies us with all the fertilizer we could ask for. In return, we also provide a lot of small foods, y'know, nuts and berries. Dorder and most of us manage little veggie patches by our houses, but a lot of us spend time going around the forest, gathering the food from there. We also supply a lot of great herbs. Dunno if you noticed, but there's a ton of lemongrass around here, for example."

"So _that's_ why there weren't many biting bugs around," Samba chuckled. "Even though other places are getting some now that we're approaching summer."

"So yeah—we rely on the greenery to sustain us and Hyrule," Link said. He grinned and thumbed himself. "And me and Grandpa are the ones people come to from all over to buy a lot of it!"

"But you're still just a small village," Samba pointed out, smirking. "So you all don't get that much money."

"Yeah, well..." Link shrugged, chuckling. "We don't need to live all fancy-like. Just as long as we have enough to keep us alive and happy."

Soon after getting to Hyrule Field, Link started and pulled Epona to a halt. "What is it?" Samba asked, skidding and trotting back when he overshot.

"The Leviathans," Link replied, dismounting Epona. "We should talk to them about the Tools."

"Oh! Yeah, probably," Samba nodded.

( )

Link and Samba returned to Here the same way as before. "Who should we ask first?" Samba asked.

"Let's try Ruedekul," he answered.

When they reached Ruedekul's area, they found him weeding, of all things. "Ah, good...morning, is it, for you two?" he greeted, getting up and brushing his hands off before holding them behind his back. "How may I be of service to you?"

"Do you know anything about the locations of the other Tools of Nations?" Link asked.

"The other Tools of Nations..." mumbled Ruedekul, rubbing where his chin would be. "...I apologize," he said after a moment, bowing a bit, "but I have no idea where they might be. However, I shall try and use my power over wood to communicate with Hyrule's plant life to see if that could help. I will alert you if I find anything."

"Thank you," Link nodded. He hesitated before asking, "Er, why were you weeding earlier?"

"Oh, well, you don't want weeds around _your_ home, do you?" Ruedekul chuckled. "Besides, they absorb all the nutrients I need. Nasty things."

Next, they checked in with Krungratrg. They found him on an enormous raft out in the ocean. Link frowned that he'd have to get wet and tried to swim over, Samba hiding. However, Link found that the ocean was a lot harder to navigate than other water, and when a large wave hit him, he was tossed under the water, blacking out. When he came to, he was lying on the shore, washed up. He had lost a heart. "Okay, that wasn't such a good idea," he coughed, getting up. "How did I not drown?"

"When you blacked out, I felt a power in the Rings," Samba explained, popping out. "A light engulfed you and brought you back to shore, I could see...It was odd."

"How long was I out?" Link asked, tossing Samba.

"I dunno, but I think only a couple minutes. Krung's still out there," he pointed over the waves.

"How do we get to him?" Link wondered. They watched him stand and grunt, pulling his tail, before a huge fish came up onto the deck with him. He laughed, grabbed it, broke its neck, and set it in his lap before resuming his fishing.

"Maybe we should just ask later," Samba shrugged. "C'mon, Anjoltvrya might know. She should be inside."

They found the mountain lioness in the little cavern she had claimed. Already, metal fences had gone up around the walls, a metal-framed bed with grass and leaves as a mattress sat in a corner, and she was busily working on an iron skillet at an anvil, using her wrench as a hammer. Though the metal wasn't glowing red-hot, she was shaping it as easily as if it were. She looked up when Samba approached and smiled. "Oh! Hi, guys!" she greeted.

Samba chuckled as he looked around. "Wow, you've been a busy kitty," he noticed.

"Yeah," Anjoltvrya laughed, putting a paw on her hip. "It keeps me occupied. Remember, every day for you is four for us." She grinned, and Samba blushed a little. "What's up?"

"We're trying to find the next Tool of Nations," Link said. "You know where we might find one?"

Anjoltvrya sighed and shook her head. "Nope, sorry," she apologized. "I'm only able to sense metal ore in Hyrule, and there isn't much spread around everywhere. I can tell the Gorons are alright, though, or at least the foundry is. They're already rebuilding it."

"Hm..." Link nodded, smiling. "Thank you, though."

"You're welcome," Anjoltvrya smiled sheepishly. "How's the quest going?"

"Alright. We just saved my village from moblins, and we have a horse now," Link smiled.

"Ah. Well, you should get back, then." She blushed. "But...come back sometime, alright?"

Samba smiled broadly. "Yeah, we will," he promised.

( )

Continuing on, they passed through Ybayba Enapu on the way, and decided to check in with Darcia at the ranch. She stood outside, watching the horses as they roamed around the enclosure. "Oh, hey guys!" she greeted, smiling. "Epona looks happier than before. She must be glad to finally have found a good partner!"

"Yeah, she helped us save my village yesterday," Link said, patting her neck. The horse neighed quietly.

"You guys doing alright?" Samba asked Darcia, floating from his Ring (he didn't want to bother with coming out just for a few minutes while in a town they can't be seen in). "How's your dad?"

"Papa's fine," she replied. "Just back to his usual hard-working, loving self. Jovas is back with his relatives up in Castle Town. Where you guys off to now on your quest to save Hyrule?" she asked.

"Back to my hometown of Jgk'hry," Samba answered. "We're gonna ask Ko about where to go next."

"Okay," nodded Darcia. She grinned. "Hey, by the way, you guys, if you think you can spare a night, the circus is coming to town!" she alerted. "They'll be set up in a day or two just up the road from Ybayba. Papa says we can go see them!"

Link grinned back. "Really? I haven't seen them since I was a kid!" he laughed. "I remember they're small but they have a lot of acts. They even have a fr—" He stopped, looking at Samba. "Uh...creature show," he decided to say instead.

Samba tilted himself, but said nothing.

"Well, whatever you decide," Darcia shrugged. "Good luck, y'all!"

"Thanks, you too, Darcia!" Link bade, riding off.

They reached Castle Town by sunset, and managed to ride through the other side before the gates were closed. "How're you doing, Epona?" Link asked after letting Samba out again.

Epona just snorted. She felt great—she had been running all day without getting tired or sore, and she was _loving_ it. She leapt over a rock in the way enthusiastically, braying.

Link laughed and held on. "Hah! Guess you're still fine, huh?" he smiled.

"Never knew horses had that much stamina," Samba remarked.

Link shook his head. "Nah—I think it's the Rings at work yet again," he replied. "I recently thought about it a bit, and after thinking about how much Darcia's talked about being very careful with horses, I realized that Epona must be being helped by the Rings. Which is great, because now we can get places way quicker!"

"Yeah!" Samba grinned as he hop-ran along. "At this rate, we'll reach my home by sunrise!"

"I don't think she can quite handle the mountain, though," Link surmised. "We'll park her nearby. Though she'll probably run on her own."

"We've got her song for that," Samba pointed out.

"Right." They rode on, defeating enemies here and there, through the night. By twilight, they had reached Death Mountain. Indeed, Epona didn't want to go up the mountain. "Probably intimidating," Link muttered. He got off her. "Alright, you be a good girl and don't get into any trouble, okay, Epona?" he asked.

Epona shook her head, snorting.

Link had Samba lead, and the two made their way up the mountain path. Midway up, Link grabbed Samba. "Wait—that rock looks suspicious," he squinted, pointing at a boulder sitting in the middle of the ground. "Lemme try something..."

A moment later, they were exploring a small grotto he discovered under the rock after bombing it. A small chest inside contained a purple rupee, and on the back wall was a gold skulltula. The medal this time was made of bronze and depicted a shovel. "Odd medals, these," Link commented, putting it away. "Wonder why these Skulltula Tokens have them..."

They reached Jgk'hry by around midmorning. The guards greeted them gruffly, and Link noticed that the lizalfos walking about were a little less friendly than before: "What? A human?...Oh, it's you." "Why are you running around with that human, Samba? We've all gotta pitch in to fish up your quota each day!" "Stop talking to me! I've got important things to do! ...What things? THINGS!" "What are YOU looking at, human?" "Meep! Keep that sword away from me! I remember how much it burned the last time!" "I've always thought you guys look weird without tails. I mean, everything else has a tail! Except gorons, because rocks with tails sounds silly." "Nice hat. *snrk*"

Samba sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yep, back to normal," he grumbled, and Link chuckled. They made it to Ko's and knocked on his door. "It's us, Ko!" Samba replied when the scholar requested a name.

"Samba!" Ko opened the door, smiling. "And Link! Come in, come in!" They came in and sat down at the table. Ko smiled and brought his book up, putting on his reading glasses. This book appeared different. "Alright, I've done a bit more research, like I said. I had to dig out another book, but it was worth it." He opened the book to a bookmark and pointed at a drawing of an old torn tapestry. "This tapestry depicted the Tools of Nations and their respective Material, it's assumed, but now, it's only got a few Materials and text that confirms the subject matter."

"I only see three of them," Link noted. "Musta been hurt pretty bad."

"Probably in a raid of some sort," Ko shrugged. "Now, see here, this one is definitely metal, which you already have." He pointed at a red-bordered icon of a sword. He pointed to an orange-bordered icon of a tunic. "This is probably cloth. I'd look for somewhere that fabric is very common..."

Link frowned, crossing his arms, Samba doing the same. "Where would that be, though?" he muttered.

"Now, the thing that puzzles me is this," Ko said, pointing to another one, far from the others. It was a rock icon bordered with indigo. "I thought you already defeated the Leviathan of Stone," Ko frowned. "So why would they put stone here?"

"Maybe we should ask the Leviathans," suggested Samba. "I dunno if I'll get a straight answer out of Krungratrg, though..."

"Well, that's all I could find, sorry," Ko apologized, smiling sheepishly. "If I'd've known it would've been that little, I would've just told you to wait at Kochyrae..."

"Nah, we needed to go, anyway," Samba said, shrugging. "Can't stay around in one place for too long. Otherwise your grandpa would make you work." Link guffawed.

"Well, you might wanna talk to the chief, too," Ko suggested. "He's wise, after all."

They did so. Kargaro was still in bed, but he looked better. "I'll be out of here any day now, they say," he reported happily. "Afterwards, I'll likely be around my home across the lake. You can walk around the village to it or ask for a boat ferry, but that costs money."

Samba nodded. "Alright. Now, Chief, we just wanted to know if you knew where else we should go," he said.

"Hmmm..." Kargaro rubbed his chin, frowning. "...You know, for the past few weeks, I have been sensing a sleeping, but growing, hatred wandering around Hyrule, stopping a few days at a time in certain areas," he finally replied. "Sometimes it stops at the foot of the mountain. I think it also stops around Castle Town...but it is very faint by then." He nodded. "I'll keep searching for other sources of hatred."

"You said that you sensed hatred in non-hylians," Samba stated, crossing his arms and frowning a little. "We had to take care of two humans the other day who had been infected by those crystals..."

Kargaro stroked his chin. "I see...Now that I think about it, that wandering hatred appeared to come from a human..." he murmured. "Perhaps I was too weak to detect humans when I said that before." He chuckled, smiling wryly at Link. "After all, humans are very mysterious, unpredictable creatures."

Link gave a little laugh, smirking. "You can say that again..." He crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Speaking of humans, have you heard anything about Zelda?"

"No, except that she's still missing, according to some gorons one of our merchants spoke with the other day," he shrugged. "I'll tell the guards to let her in and not harm her if she happens to arrive here, though, and I'll alert you as soon as possible."

"Thank you," Samba smiled, nodding.

"In the meantime, try finding strange happenings or troubles like at the foundry," Kargaro suggested, smiling. "If you want my opinion, you should try and ask a few nomads. The only ones I know of, however, is the traveling circus. They see many things on their travels, though, and might be able to help point you the right way."

Link and Samba looked at each other. "Darcia said they'd be coming by Ybayba soon, didn't she?" asked Samba.

"Looks like we're going to the circus, after all," Link chuckled. They thanked Kargaro and stopped by Samba's house to visit.

"I don't know where there's any trouble," Ybir said, shaking her head, after they asked. "If you want strange happenings, however, just go to the circus. I think they're settling south right now."

"That's what Kargaro suggested," Link chuckled. "I think this is a sign from the goddesses."

Ybir laughed. "I guess so!" She looked at Samba, and her face fell. "Sweetie?"

Samba, who had been looking at Vardi playing with Lullaby, eyelids drooped a little and mouth expressionless, snapped his head up. "Reh? No, I'm fine," he said quickly. He bopped his head. "Gotta get my head back in the game, is all. It's been a long week or however long it's been."

"Alright," Ybir said softly, giving her son a soft hug. "I just worry about you. And don't worry about us—Lullaby's keeping us plenty company." She giggled. "I'd forgotten how much brighter the house feels with a Pols Voice around!"

Link and Samba stepped outside once more. Link stretched. "Alright, we done here?" he wondered. "Wait, no—we should stop by Goron City and buy some bombs!"

"Yeah," Samba nodded. They began to go out the nearby exit when they almost literally ran into Drejsk.

"Whoa, careful, guys!" the lardy lizard laughed. "Where you off to in such a hurry?"

"Goron City, to buy bombs," Samba answered. "What are you doing?"

"Helping rebuild the platform in the lake," he answered. "I was just going wack for more buh—gratchin' tongue, _back_ for more _wood."_ He grumbled, crossing his arms. "But it's so expensive! I wish it were cheaper..."

Link frowned in thought. 'Hmmmmmmmmm...Maybe I...' He shook his head. 'No, what good would that do? They're so far apart...'

"Where's Thyu?" wondered Samba.

"On duty at the armory. Why?" Drejsk tilted his head.

"The armory?" Link asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah—It's in the Empty Cavern, apparently" Samba explained. "Heck...you know...I think, I..." He got out the map to the dungeon, then raised his eyeridges. "Wait! I didn't just miss a chest, Link, I missed a whole _door!"_ he exclaimed. "I must not have noticed it before...I swore that wall was just a bunch of...stalagmites..." He slapped his snout. "Which are probably gone now..."

"What is it?" Link peeked. "It looks like a small room..."

"That's the armory," Samba said, pointing. "It's got two entrances—one normal tunnel entrance, one that's always been locked tight that leads into the Empty Cavern." He shrugged. "The tunnel's a little bit of a climb, but a lot safer than jumping over the river to get there...and there's that possibly bombable part in there to get to that chest, too..."

"Then let's go," Link said.

"Thanks, Drejsk!" Samba waved before trotting off. He led Link up to a ledge, which both could climb up, then through a tunnel flanked by torches. "Hang onto my paw, it's dark in here," he said once they entered. He used his night vision to guide them through the ascending, sometimes turning tunnel. Soon, they reached light, and Samba let go of Link's hand. "The armory," Samba announced as they reached a heavy stone door, some of the Empty Cavern's mushrooms surrounding the walls. There was a sliding panel to peek through on it, a ring knocker below it. Samba used the knocker, and the panel opened, two beady eyes looking at him. "It's Samba, I wanna come through," he said.

"Right," a gruff voice replied, closing the slit. A second later, a deep clunk was heard and the door opened inward. A normal guard stood at the door. "Come in, and human, don't touch anything," he instructed sternly.

Link nodded and followed Samba inside. Torches lit the room in some parts, more mushrooms illuminating other parts. Swords, armor, axes, spears, shields, and bows and arrows lined the walls and sat in racks. "Wow," Link whispered.

"Never knew we _had_ all this," Samba murmured. "I've never been here before..."

"Cool place, eh?" Thyu walked over, and they turned to him. He smirked. "I'm here to take inventory now that things have calmed down. What are you two doing here?"

"Just wanted to say hi and look around the cavern again," Samba replied.

"Ah. Hi, then." Thyu chuckled. "Well, be careful—there are still monsters around here."

"After what _we've _just been through?" Samba scoffed. "We could beat 'em in our sleep."

"Well, it's through that door," Thyu pointed at a door like the rest in the cavern. It was locked. "You'll need this." He gave them a small key and bade them luck.

Samba unlocked the door, then opened it. As he pulled the rock, throwing it up the hidden slope, Link got next to him, so both could run through at the same time. Again, Samba grabbed his tail before it was crushed. They were back in the big room with the large mushroom, standing in the pit. "This is surreal," Link said, following Samba as they climbed up the ladder to the room's usual entrance. "Exploring the dungeon you did to find your Ring."

"How do you think I feel?" Samba chuckled, getting up onto the door platform. "I never wanted to see this place again after what I went through." Once Link was up there, he ran and jumped down to the main platform below, rolling on impact. Link did the same, then followed him through a door.

"That's an awfully big room," he muttered, looking behind him.

"What, you comment on _that_ and not the _mushroom?"_ Samba snickered. "I dunno why it's big, but hey." They stopped at the end of the tunnel where it broke into two paths. "Alright, here's that rubble pile," Samba said, pointing to the cave-in. "Wanna give it a shot?"

"Got about four bombs left—why not?" Link shrugged. Telling Samba to stand back, Link set a bomb on the pile, then stood away, both of them hiding behind their shields. When it exploded, rocks flew everywhere. They looked again and frowned. "There are still a lot of rocks," Link frowned.

"Then try it again, there's still a chest in there, and I doubt your hammer would work here," Samba said. "You blew an awful lot away, though!"

Link bit his lip, but tried again. This time, they made a small gap between rubble and ceiling. "One more oughtta do it!" Link said. He tried, and finally, the rubble pile blew completely away, leaving only a few rocks here and there, the rest pulverized into gravel.

Standing before them was a large stone chest.

Samba jumped, punching—the ceiling, he found, shaking his paw after he landed. _"YAS_—OW!" He trotted over and opened it.

"What is it?" Link asked as Samba pulled it out.

The lizalfos turned, grinning. "A Piece of Heart!" he crowed. "That makes it two so far. Three more and we'll have a new Heart Container to keep us from dying so quick!"

Link grinned back as they absorbed the gem. Suddenly, both jumped as a haunting tune came from their Rings. It was a variation of the Song of Penitence, and the gemstones flashed on and off. "I think they want us to call them," Link guessed.

They played the Song of Penitence. Soon, they heard a voice. "You've reached Krungratrg. Which means you're in the Empty Cavern or nearby. What's up?"

"Our Rings flashed," Samba reported. "Did you guys wanna speak with us?"

"Yeah, I did!" Krungratrg chuckled. "I sensed you guys in my old home, and that you just found the last treasure. Now that's scouring!"

"Wait, that's it?" Link asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That, and I was wondering what you were doing there," Krungratrg added. "Aren't you guys supposed to be, like, _saving the world_ or something like that?"

"Speaking of, Ko found evidence that says there might be a Tool of Nations for stone," Samba remembered. "Any idea why?"

"Yeah, 'cuz there _is_ one," Krungratrg replied. Link and Samba widened their eyes and looked at each other. Krungratrg laughed. _"What,_ I thought Kitten told you guys the _dealio?_ A Leviathan only _forms_ when a Tool or Ring is _obtained."_

"So whatever the stone one is hasn't been found?" Samba interpreted.

"Or something. I've been wonderin' about that, meself, so I'll keep on talkin' to the rocks of Hyrule for ya. Rudes says he feels the same sorta thing, too. Anythin' you two wanna ask lil' ol' me?"

"Do you have any clue where the other Tools of Nations are?" Link asked.

"Nope, but I'll keep an eye out. Or _ear._ Or whatever _organ_ feels the rocks of Hyrule." Krungratrg yawned. "Welp, it's getting' on towards sleepytime fer me. Feel free to call or see us anytime!" And with that, the conversation ended.

"That was interesting," Link remarked, putting his ocarina away.

"I wonder if this means we'll only have to fight five more Leviathans?" Samba wondered. "That'd be nice..."

**. . .**

_**omake**_

**. . .**

***Krungratrg and Anjoltvrya are in Krungratrg's cave, sitting around a fire. Anjoltvrya is using a metal grill over the fire to hold her skillet, in which is half of one of the two fish that Krungratrg caught a bit ago (not the same fish from the time the duo saw him).***

**Anjoltvrya:** *flips fish with a lengthened wrench* It's great to be able to make this stuff so easily.

**Krungratrg:** *frowns* Where are you getting so much _metal?_ And how can you make so much _stuff?_

**Anjoltvrya:** Well, there's a lot of iron ore.

**Krungratrg:** *pauses, then holds up paw* …what?

**Anjoltvrya:** *raises eyebrow* I said there's a lot of iron ore.

**Krungratrg:** Or _what?_

**Anjoltvrya:** *blinks, then flips the fish right into Krungratrg's face, half-eying, while Krungratrg has a giggle fit*

**. . .**

Sorry for the delay for posting even this (and double-sorry it's not Re:PoT) so late. Summer's been really weird for me this year. I'm currently taking an internship with a composer my mother knows, Joe Fear, and subletting in St. Paul. I'm really behind on hours, too, so August is going to be me working up a storm. I'm currently working on the next chapter—I was going to do a really long chapter—but don't expect the next dungeon to start in it. Or any time really soon. Also, WHY DOESN'T FF DOT NET ALLOW ? AND ! TO BE TOGETHER ANYMORE? ! ! ? ! ? ? ! ? ! ! ? ! ? ? !

While you're waiting for me, I'm taking commissions to make more money! $5 for sketches, $8 for coloreds, $10 for short stories. PM me if you're interested! I need money! Badly!


	21. A Day at the Circus of Wonders

After using her song to bring her galloping over, Link mounted Epona again, wallet lighter and bomb bag heavier. Goron City had been much the same. (The child goron had grinned as he saw the bomb bag. "Oh, Brother! You've finally gotten some bombs! Just go down to the shop and get some for cheaper than they sell outside the city! But don't tell anyone else about that—it's a seeecreeet!") The sky told them it was the afternoon. "Well," Link said, "shall we go to the circus?"

They made it through Castle Town with a bit less time than before, but they discovered that they can open the gates to let you outside at night, though they won't keep them open or let you back in. It was the twilight before dawn when they reached the first fork in the road after Ybayba and stopped when they found a sign not seen before. The sign pointed down the road they always skipped. "'This way to the amazing Wanderers' Circus of Wonders traveling performance! Here for only three days!'" read Samba. He looked up at Link. "Welp."

Link and Samba traveled down the road. They soon came upon a group of tents set up in the field by the road. "I wonder when their performance starts," muttered Link as they approached. "Samba, hide."

Link parked Epona at a handy fence erected there for horses to be tied to. (He didn't tie her, of course.) It was dawn by then. There were seven tents, five small, one medium, and one large. All had red and yellow stripes. Link entered the large one, noticing a booth set up with "Tickets" written on it. (It was unoccupied at the moment.) Inside, it was dim, but he saw a stone ring in the grass (finding it odd for a moment to see grass inside a structure) and bleachers around the entrance's half of the tent. A man in a tailcoat with an absurdly huge mustache walked around, checking things like the bleachers and the tent poles.

Link went up to him. "Excuse me, sir?" he asked.

The man turned to him and raised his eyebrows. "Oh! Are you here for the show?" he asked. Link nodded. "Well, you're a sight early! We don't start until a couple hours before noon! I'm just double-checking to make sure we're all done setting up the tent."

"Ah. Can w—I talk to some of the performers?" Link wondered.

"Sure!" the man chuckled. He fluffed his coat flaps. "I'm Joru, the ringleader, by the way," he introduced. "I'm the leader of the Wanderers. It's an adventurous life, a tough one, but it's the only one for me!"

"...Did you run away to the circus when you were little?" Link asked jocularly.

Joru gave a belly laugh. "Indeed, I did, young man! And happy for it!" he replied, and Link laughed back. Joru wiggled his whiskers. "You'll find our other performers in their tents. Some of them look a bit...odd, but don't be scared—they're all very nice people, you've my word. Otherwise I wouldn't have them in my circus!"

Link thanked him and exited the tent. He looked at the other tents as he approached them. Signs by them said the names of the inhabitants. He noticed that one tent had some laundry hanging out to dry by it. Curious, he examined the medium-sized tent first. A white horse was tethered on a post by it. "'Champ, Kellese, Prance, Phin, and Quiy's Tent'," read Link. "Wow, lotta folks..." He entered the tent carefully in case they still slept.

To his left and right were hanging walls of fabric. Flaps hung down with names painted on either; the left bore "Phin" and the right "Quiy". Before him was an open area where he saw something pacing around in a cage. Curious, he walked over. He gasped when he saw a genuine _lion_ in there. He noticed another enclosed part of the tent, reading "Kellese" on the door flap, in the corner.

"Hey, what are you doing here, kid?" asked a deep male voice. Link spun around and saw a man about a head shorter than him standing without a shirt, wearing bloomers and black knee-high boots. He frowned at the swordsman. A whip hung from his belt. "Champ gets nervous around new faces without me. You should be careful." He walked over to the lion and called out to him. The lion purred and brushed against his offered hand. "There, boy...Phin's here..."

"Are you the lion tamer, then?" Link assumed.

"Best there is, kid!" Phin crowed. "My best friend's this lion I've raised since he was a cub, named him Champ. He's a big sweetie as long as he knows ya."

Link smiled. "Neat! I'm Link, by the way." He frowned. 'What to ask about...?' "Have you guys had any trouble?" he decided. "Or any weird happenings going on?"

Phin laughed. "We're a circus, we're FULL of trouble and weird happenings," he said. He paused, shuffling his feet. "And I don't know much—I spend all my time taking care of Champ, pretty much. It's a lot of work to keep practicing our act."

"Oh, okay," Link nodded. "Thanks. Is Quiy awake? Can I see him or her?"

"Her, and yeah, but ask first, she might be dressing," Phin answered, nodding.

Link stood by Quiy's doorflap and cleared his throat. "Excuse me? Miss Quiy? May I come in?" he asked.

"Sure," replied her voice. Link entered and found her getting dressed in a festive outfit, already in a tutti-frutti leotard. He blushed when he saw her fine curves and well-groomed long, brunette hair, and she giggled. "Come early to meet the performers, huh, kid?" she asked. She bowed a little from her seat at her cot. "I'm Quiy, rider of Prance—you saw the dear colt outside—and famed dancer."

Link smiled and nodded. "Link. I'm just wondering, have you heard or seen anything out of the ordinary?"

Quiy frowned, putting a finger to her delicate lips. "Hmmm...Well, I've heard a little about there being a monster uprising," she said after a moment. "But..." She shook her head. "No, dear, nothing else. Sorry." She smiled sweetly. "I'd like to get finished, now, if you'd please..."

Link exited her room and went to the last inhabitant's tent. "Excuse me? May I come in?" he asked.

"If you want, but I'm a mess," a deep woman's voice replied, sounding slightly muffled.

Link pushed through the flap and stopped, widening his eyes. Before him was the hairiest creature he'd ever seen in his life! It was vaguely humanoid, sitting in a chair and staring a mirror, covered with messy, matted, tangled, thick, massive white hair. He saw a snout sticking out of the hair. "O-_Oh!_ Sorry!" Link stammered. 'She wasn't _kidding!'_

The beast chuckled mirthlessly and reached a right paw, it appeared, through the hair, and parted some from its face, turning and looking at him. Link raised his eyebrows when the face was that of a wolf's. "That's alright, hun," she forgave, eyebrows knit over her sapphire eyes. "I get that a lot." She shuffled her other arm, fighting to free it from her hair, then its paw out, saying, "I'm Kellese, the fearsome she-wolfos. I'm part of our very small freak show with Candy, our fat lady."

Link took the paw and shook with only a half second's hesitation. "Link, I'm here to ask some questions, and see the show later," he introduced, a blushing smile on his face.

Immediately, Kellese leaned over and sniffed Link's hand. She raised an eyebrow. "You didn't hesitate nearly as long as other people—and I smell why," she said curiously. "I smell lizalfos...especially on _that_ finger..." She looked at his Rings.

Link blinked, eyebrows raised. "Erm..." 'Maybe this might help get some answers...and they seem trustworthy if they have a beast of their own...' "Hold on." Link stood back and tossed Samba.

Kellese raised her eyebrows. "Oh! Interesting magic," she commented. She looked up and down at the somewhat annoyed lizalfos. "And who're you, blue boy? Never seen a lizalfos of your color before..."

"Samba, of Jgk'hry," he introduced. He furrowed his brow. "I swear, I thought all the wolfos were dead, or at least weren't anywhere near Hyrule anymore," he said suspiciously. "Only white wolfos are left, and they're all the way up on Embargo Ridge, not a one of them _nearly_ intelligent enough to be even halfway civilized..."

Kellese looked away. "That's...I don't wanna talk about it," she replied quietly. She growled, grabbing her head. "Besides, I can't think straight with my hair _all_ _over_ the place like this!" she added in frustration.

"Then just cut it," Link shrugged. "It looks way too matted to brush anymore..."

Kellese whined and shook her head. "No, it's too thick and tough for normal blades to get through without taking forever," she lamented. "I'd need something heavy-duty, which we don't really have around here...And no, not a sword, please," she added quickly as Samba began to draw his. She shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry, I can't talk much right now. I got lost in Verdart a few months ago, and by the time I found the Wanderers again—we have a show there for the deku scrubs—my hair was like this. I think I might still have a twig or two in there..."

"Oh, my..." Link frowned. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay...Just...leave me be for now, please..." She turned back to the mirror and sighed. "I'm trying to figure out what I can do for an act while I'm like this..."

Samba frowned. "Okay...I wish we could find something to help..."

Suddenly, both him and Link froze. Eyes wide, they slowly looked at each other. "No way," Link muttered.

"Of all the coincidences," murmured Samba.

Link stepped over to Kellese and dug in his bag. "Kellese? Could this be of use to you?" he asked, producing the shears that the deku scrub from a few nights ago had given them in exchange for some of Link's deku nuts.

Kellese glanced morosely over. "No, they'll be as useless as the rest..." she murmured, looking away again. She did a double-take. "Wait, are those _shears?"_ She grabbed them from Link's hand. "These _have_ to work!" she grumbled.

Link and Samba watched with raised eyebrows/-ridges as she snipped and snapped away madly at her hair, white strands and clumps flying hither and tither. A minute later, pretty much the entire clump of hair _flump_ed to the ground, and Kellese breathed a big sigh of relief. "Hahhh! _Much_ better!" she smiled, running a paw through her new, short-clipped haircut. "Had to pretty much shave my head, but a few minutes with Quiy will smooth things over." She turned and looked at them. Her face was much more appealing without so much hair around it. With a wolfish grin, she said, "Thank you, guys, thank you so much! I thought I'd _never_ get to perform again! I thought I'd melt! I thought my head would snap from so much weight! I thought I'd never be rid of so much hair!" She laughed down at the mass below. "I'm sure we'll find some use for that as a prop, or something," she chuckled.

"Not a problem," Link smiled. "Glad we could help."

Kellese smiled, then frowned. "Oh, I just _must_ give you _some_thing in return..." she growled. She looked around her room. She pushed her lips to a side in a half frown as she picked up a small paddle with many holes in it. "Well, uh...it's not much, but this is my old hairbrush," she offered, turning and holding it out. "Pulled out all the pins when trying to brush my hair again...I'm sure you guys could put it to _some_ use...Sorry it's such a poor exchange!" She looked as if she were blushing under that fur.

Link forced a smile, taking it. "Urm...it's alright," he replied slowly. He put it away. "Would you be willing to—"

"Uh, shoot, look at the time!" Kellese suddenly barked, looking out the tent window hole. She grinned nervously and got up. Now that her hair wasn't covering her like a cloak, they found she wore a very primitive-looking tank top and skirt, both made from hide and full of tears and crude stitching. Samba guessed it was made that way on purpose as part of her act. Kellese hurried past them. "Gotta go see Quiy about my hair, don't bother us please!" she explained quickly as she passed.

Link and Samba blinked at each other before shrugging. "Might as well stay out if they have her," Link told Samba. Samba nodded.

"Oh, you've got a friend? Where'd you come from?" asked Phin as they passed. "You look like you'd make a good addition to the show! You and Kellese could have a beastman battle!"

Samba half-eyed at him. "Are you serious?" he asked flatly.

Phin laughed. "Nah, just bein' a jerk," he smirked.

"Who next?" asked Link, looking around at the other tents.

"Let's just go around them," Samba pointed. "They're all situated around this tent."

So they went. First was Candy, "World's Fattest Woman" according to the sign. A tall, short-and-black-haired woman, she was phenomenal—her hips were wider than Link and Samba standing side by side, her seat could provide a very comfortable one for each of them, her belly sagged to where her knees should have been, and her chest was ridiculously huge. Her chubby hands and feet seemed tiny, wrists and ankles partly swallowed up by her limb fat. She had no neck, a triple chin, and balloony cheeks. And yet, she was walking—no, _dancing_ around her private tent, humming to herself. She wore what had to be the biggest leotard in the world on her body, tights on her legs _and_ arms, all dark colors. These served to smooth out her figure, cover her skin (which was not in the best of shape, red and blotchy in many places), and accent her curves. These combined with her surprisingly cute, ginger-eyed face to make her, to Link's astonishment, an appealing sight.

"Oh! Hello there, dearies," Candy greeted sweetly when she saw them. She giggled and held her hands behind her back, resting on the fold of fat there that made her seem like a walking sphere. "Come to see the world's fattest woman in her natural habitat?"

Link and Samba both blushed, shaking their heads. "N-No, ma'am," Samba replied. 'Drejsk and Krungratrg would be jealous...'

"We're here to ask some questions, is all," Link explained. _'What_ does she _eat?...'_

"Ah, okay," Candy chuckled. She stood and watched them for a moment. The boys were unable to stop staring. She smirked and turned a circle. "Take a pictograph, they're on sale for 20 rupees apiece," she joked. Link and Samba squeaked and looked away, mumbling apologies, and Candy laughed. "Ah, don't worry, I love being fat enough to sit on a goron," she dismissed, batting her hand. "If I didn't like people staring at me, I wouldn't put myself through being a freak show exhibit." She sat down on her extra-large, metal-framed cot. (The others were wooden-framed.) "So what do you want to know, dearies?"

"How are you even _alive?"_ Link and Samba blurted before they could stop themselves. They squeaked and clamped their mouths shut, blushing red and purple respectively.

Candy cracked up, holding her stomach—presumably trying to hold her sides. "Oh, _Farore,_ you're adorable!" she cried. She wiped a tear away a moment later. _"Oh,_ you're both so priceless. I'm sorry, don't worry, I've heard it all." She giggled. "And to answer your question, it's part blood, part generous amounts of exercise (this ain't _all_ fat, darlings), part proper diet, and part daily doses of red potion." She smiled sweetly. "And yes, by 'blood' I mean my body _wants_ to be this way more than like you two's," she added. "Now, what do you _really_ want to know?"

Link, getting over the initial shock, blush finally cooling down, cleared his throat. "Have you seen or heard anything strange or troubling recently?" he asked.

Candy frowned. "Urm...well, uh..." She wrung her wrists, looking to the corner of her tent. She looked back and shook her head. "No, I haven't. Nothing you'd be interested in."

Link and Samba exchanged eyebrow and eyeridge raises. "Alright, thank you, Candy," Samba nodded. "Sorry if we bothered you."

Candy smiled and shook her head. "Not at all! You two are so cute, I could just eat you up!" she giggled. She laughed harder as they paled at the joke. "Go on, I need to freshen up."

Next they found the tent of "Yobi, Strongest Man in Hyrule". It was directly from the corner of Candy's tent. They heard deep snores coming from it, however. "Maybe we should come by later," Link suggested quietly. "It's still very early in the morning."

The next tent was empty. "Ringleader's Tent" read the sign outside. "He's still out," Link shrugged.

The next tent over, they found "Sparrow and Robin, The Flying Prodigies" and went inside. They were the tent with the laundry hanging outside. A slender pair greeted them, one male, one female, and they looked similar to each other. Both were dressed in leotards, as well, brightly colored with aquamarine. "Hi! I'm Sparrow!" the man greeted.

"And I'm Robin!" the woman smiled.

"We're twins," Sparrow explained.

"That's why we look similar," nodded Robin.

"And that's why we make the best acrobat team in the world!" both exclaimed, clapping a hand together in a pose.

Link and Samba blinked a moment. "O...kay," Samba grunted. "Could you tell us if anything strange or troublesome has been going on lately?"

Both shook their heads and replied in unison, "Nope!"

Robin frowned, looking up. "Well...it's not 'lately', but a while back, someone stole some clothing off our line nearby Death Mountain," she described. "Stole a red shirt and a pair of gray overalls..."

"Those were my favorite overalls," lamented Sparrow.

Link and Samba, smiling to themselves, decided to try the last tent. Simply "Bob the Clown" was written on the sign outside. Once inside, both yelped as a bucket of water dropped onto them.

"Oh! Visitors!" chuckled a man in a festive jumpsuit standing at the other end of the tent. "I suppose I _whet_ your curiosity, hm?" He giggled.

Samba half-eyed, wiping his eyes clear, and snarled. "What if your fellow performers came in here?" he scolded. "You could ruin their costumes!"

"Well," Bob smirked, walking over, showing off a painted face and a round, red felt nose, "my fellow performers know to take high steps coming into my tent to avoid the tripwire."

Link held Samba as he growled viciously. "Samba, please, he's just clowning around, it's his job," he laughed.

Samba humphed and crossed his arms. "Bob, have you seen or heard anything strange or troubling lately?" he asked. "And be serious."

Bob chuckled. "I might have to charge you if you want me to be serious!" He shook his head. "Sorry—Now let's see..." He thought for a moment. His eyes glanced over them while he did so. After a moment, he sighed, then shook his head. "Not lately," he replied. He smirked. "But, I've heard many a tale that may interest the two of you..." The smirk became a grin. "...O _Knights of Dualty."_

Link and Samba looked at each other, then at the Rings, then the Master Sword. "You know your stuff," Link complimented.

Bob laughed. "I _have_ to know my stuff," he replied. He turned back to the other end of the tent.

"What are you going to tell us about?" asked Samba.

"About something you Knights might want to hear about," Bob replied, putting on a purple clown wig. "Tell me, are you two seeking out creatures known as Leviathans?"

Link raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Yeah, the Leviathans of Material," he confirmed.

"Well." Bob turned to them and winked. "Be sure to come to today's performance, then. Though you may want to hide away, Mr. Lizalfos," he added with a smirk.

Samba nodded. "Yeah, expected as much..."

Link frowned. "Why?" he asked. "Why not now?"

"If I told you why, it would kill the surprise!" Bob chuckled. "Now go, I need to rehearse."

Link and Samba exited the tent. "Should we wait for the strong man to wake up?" Link asked.

"Maybe, but he might know as much as the others," Samba growled. "From what everyone was talking about, I swear we'd've heard something more direct by now..."

Link and Samba decided to wait for an hour before checking back at Yobi's tent. They went around the big top. On the way, they found some work horses and wagons behind the tent, as well as a wide tent (no name) with three empty beds. On the other side, they discovered a few more tents and three booths, these situated so that they formed a small alleyway. The booths each had what appeared to be different fair games. A man in a porkpie hat greeted them as they came by one of them. (The other two were vacant at the moment.) "Hey, the show's yet begun, but why not have some fun?" he suggested. "Ten rupees, ten shots, ten targets, win lots!" He held his hand out to his booth. Inside were a number of moving targets.

Link raised his eyebrows. "Ooh, I always liked these games," he said, smiling. He walked over, Samba groaning and following. "What's the prize?" he inquired.

"Hit six targets and you win some arrows as consolation," said the man. "Hit eight and you'll get another free try. Hit ten and you'll win a _secret_ prize! Only at Hawkeye Archery Range!"

Link frowned in thought. "Hmmmm...Okay, I'll give it a shot," he said, handing over a yellow rupee.

The man chuckled and took it. "Alrighty, then, sir! Here's ten arrows, use 'em wisely!" he bade, giving him the arrows. "Need a bow?"

Link took his out. "Got my own," he replied. "Just stand here?"

"Nope, between those posts over there," the carny pointed, indicating two wooden posts ten feet from the booth. Link went there. "Alright, I'll be ducking right here so you don't hit me. Good luck, and remember, we're _not_ responsible for _any_ damages sustained or inflicted during this game!" He ducked down.

Link stood and took careful aim. Some targets were easier to hit than others. He missed two small ones that popped in and out quickly. All misses stuck in the wooden back. "Alright, we'll give you another try," the man said, grabbing the arrows and giving them back to Link when he came over.

This time, Link hit all ten. "Yes!" he pumped his arm. "I did it!"

Samba scoffed. "Good. I didn't want to end up wasting all our money here," he grumbled. "A stupid prize? _Really,_ Link?"

Link proudly marched to the booth, where the man was laughing. "I shouldn't let grown men play this game," the man chuckled. "They're usually better at archery than the kids I usually get...Tell ya what. I was gonna give ya a stuffed toy, but you're a bit old for that. Why don't you take this instead?" He pulled out a large quiver. "This baby holds 40 arrows—that's 10 more than the standard 30-arrow quiver size! And you earned it, kid!"

Link grinned, holding the quiver for a moment. "Thanks, sir!"

Samba gawked. "What? A bigger quiver? For a _game?"_ he squawked. He growled and shook his head. "Of all the..."

"'Stupid prizes?'" Link finished, smug expression on his face as he returned to his friend. Samba just smacked him in the back with his tail, making him stumble and laugh. "And no, he hasn't heard or seen anything, either," he added. "I asked quick."

Neither did the magician and his lovely assistant. Nor the other booth keepers who were behind the other two booths, working. Not even the fortune teller in her dark, star-spangled tent could tell them anything, and they paid her twenty rupees! But all of them paused before saying no—paused and looked uncertain in some way. (The tent in the back was empty, though they assumed why because "FREAK SHOW" was painted above the entrance.) "They're hiding something," Link surmised. "But what?"

When they checked back at Yobi's tent, the snoring had ceased. Link entered, saying, "Excuse me, Mr. Yobi?" Samba began to follow, but right as he opened the flap, Link came crashing right into him, the two falling down to the ground.

Samba blinked in surprise as he winced. "The—!" He looked up.

A large man with grand muscles (but nowhere near as huge as Rargon's or Daigorno's), a white, leopard-spotted, single-shoulder singlet showing them off, seethed at them, a frown on his bearded face. _"Don't talk to me!"_ he roared, hazel eyes burning with fury. He turned on his shoed heel and stormed back into his tent.

"I thought they were all supposed to be really nice," Link grumbled as he got off Samba.

"Yeah," Samba agreed, the two standing and brushing themselves off. "Let's go ask Joru about this...He gave his word..."

Joru wasn't in the big top. Sparrow and Robin were, instead, setting up their tightrope. "Joru?" asked Sparrow from the beginning platform, tying down one end.

"He said he was going to check on Kellese," Robin answered, climbing up the other one with the other end of the rope in hand.

Link gulped as he watched them set up the rope. "I always wonder if I'm ever going to have to walk across one of those, these days," he murmured. "I don't have the best balance..."

"What about the ledges?" Samba asked.

"At least you can lean against the wall with ledges," Link answered, biting his lip, "the floor can't swing out from under you, and you know which direction you'll fall!"

"Well, I doubt we're going to have to go across any tightropes," Samba assured him. "C'mon, let's find Joru."

Inside the medium-sized tent, they found Joru talking to Kellese in front of Champ's cage. (Phin stood by his friend to keep him calm, wearing a pinstriped shirt now.) Kellese's hair looked much neater—she must have indeed seen Quiy about it. "Maybe you could try and scare some of the audience members?" suggested Joru.

"Nah, I don't wanna do that to people," Kellese shook her head. "We could get in trouble, anyway. Maybe I could improvise an act with Champ and Phin?"

"No way," Phin objected. "I know Champ and you are great pals, but I have no idea how to handle him _and_ you..."

"What about being a foil for Bob? You could act like you're trying to ruin his jokes, or he could play fetch with you," Joru smiled, holding a finger up.

"Hmmm...Maybe, but..." Kellese crossed her arms, sighing and turning. She looked up, then raised her eyebrows. "Oh! Link and Samba!"

"Hm?" Joru turned and raised his as well. "Oh! You have a friend, Link? A lizalfos, no less! Is this one of Jgk'hry's? _Please_ say yes..."

Samba grinned evilly. "Nope," he lied. He laughed at Joru's expression face. _"Yas,_ I am, just kidding."

"But all joking aside, Joru," Link said sternly, the two walking over, "you promised _everyone_ was friendly."

"Everyone _is_ friendly," Joru repeated, frowning. "What's wrong?"

"Well, I wouldn't call being literally thrown out of a tent 'friendly,'" Samba deadpanned, making air quotes.

"Oh..." Kellese's ears drooped and she held her mouth, brow knit. "He's, uh...He's been in a bad mood these past few days," she explained. "He doesn't want to talk about it..."

"Yes, I should have warned you about him," Joru admitted, rubbing his arm. "Are you alright, sirs?"

They nodded. "We've survived worse," Link shrugged.

_"Way_ worse," Samba added, smirking.

"Ah...Well, did you find out what you needed?" asked Joru.

They shook their heads. "That's the other thing," Samba frowned. "Your troupe seems to be hiding something..."

Joru raised an eyebrow. "Really, now?" He stroked his whiskers. "Why do you say that?"

"They act a bit weird when we ask if they've seen anything odd or troubling lately," Link described. "Heck, Kellese, you weren't fooling anyone by running off that quick," he added, crossing his arms at the wolfos.

Kellese bit her lip. "I, uh..." she said in a small voice.

"Gentlemen," Joru addressed, raising his voice and stepping in front of Kellese with a frown, "we're all very busy. We need to prepare for today's performance. Thank you for your interest in us at such an early hour, but if I'd please have your leave until the show begins. Tickets are 50 rupees apiece." He glanced back at Kellese, then wiggled his mustache. "However, since you _did_ help out Kellese earlier, I think it fair enough to allow both of you free admission. _Just this once,_ though—all subsequent shows are full-price. Don't worry, I'm the one selling tickets, I'll know. Now please, leave."

Link and Samba glanced at each other uncertainly before nodding and leaving. "That was interesting," Link muttered, starting to walk to Epona.

"Well, we _were_ kinda putting her on the spot there," admitted Samba.

"What's this about the wolfos, though?" Link wondered after a moment.

"Ko told me about them a couple years ago," Samba said. "Originally, they were feral monsters like rocs or like likes. They—"

"Link! Samba!" called a familiar voice. "Y'all must be _real_ stoked about this circus if yer here before us!" They looked and saw Darcia riding a horse down the road. "We started off before dawn to get the best seats. Y'all can sit with us! If yer already there, Samba, I bet nobody'll raise _too_ much fuss aboutcha."

Link smiled and nodded. "That'd be great! Thanks, Darcia!"

"They ain't gonna start sellin' tickets fer a while, now," Talgo said, stopping his horse at the fence. Darcia stopped hers, too. He looked at the swordsmen and smiled as he dismounted. "Now, were you two talkin' 'bout somethin'?"

"Oh, sorry!" Darcia apologized, smiling sheepishly while she dismounted beside her father.

Samba shook his head, smiling. "That's alright. I was just telling Link about the wolfos tribe," he replied. "You know about them?"

"Only a little," Talgo shrugged. "We gots us some time. Why don't we all sit down and talk a bit outside the ticket booth?"

So they sat on the grass by the entrance to the big top. Samba removed his helmet while he rested. He rubbed at the back curve of his skull. 'I swear those scales weren't so rough before,' he thought to himself. He shook his head. 'Must be from wearing the helmet so much. Now let's see...' He looked up again and cleared his throat.

"As I was telling Link before, originally, wolfos were monsters like rocs or like likes or octorocks," he re-began. "They say, though, that one day, a hundred years ago or so, a wolfos found its way to the fountain of the Great Fairy of Knowledge. The Great Fairy took pity on the savage creature and blessed it with her power, the power of intelligence. This power spread to any wolfos that this one touched afterwards, and after it discovered this when touching its mate, the wolfos ran around, touching all in its pack, then leading them to others so it could pass on the power to them, too.

"In a year, nearly all the wolfos in Hyrule were intelligent. They decided to worship Nayru in particular for her wisdom, and sought to live as both beasts and men combined in one perfect form. They erected a small village somewhere in the fields of Hyrule and one somewhere in Verdart. Nobody knows what happened to the ones in Verdart, but it's assumed they were consumed by the swamp's dangers. This sect, you see, sought to return to the simple ways of the beast, but couldn't quite throw away the intelligence they had been given. They wanted to be alone in their ambivalence, and some think they went to the swamp to let it swallow them up. The field wolfos lived in peace for a long time.

"There's evidence of at least the field wolfos existing, since there are lots of stories that traders have given. They even helped some hylians build something nearby their home—I never heard quite what. However, sadly, there was apparently some sort of war or something, and now all that remains of the field wolfos are the ruins of their village, mostly eaten away because they built with wood and hide." Samba sighed. "Ko says that it took a long time to convince the elder back then to try and form an alliance with the wolfos, but by the time we came, they had been extinguished...not a trace of their whereabouts," he added quietly.

"Aw, that's sad," Darcia frowned. "I wish I could've met 'em..."

"Well, there's an intelligent wolfos here," Link said, smiling. "Her name's Kellese. We helped her out of a _hairy_ situation." Samba swatted him for the pun.

"Well, I'm sure we'll see her, then," Talgo grinned. "This sounds like an interesting circus already!"

"And we're selling tickets starting now," Joru added, walking into the ticket booth and flipping a sign that said "CLOSED" to say "OPEN". "Blue and Green get in free for helping Kellese earlier, but you two have to pay 50 rupees each for tickets like everyone else, friends or not."

"We were prepared for it," Talgo said, getting up and opening his wallet, pulling out the proper change.

**. . .**

Soon, the four were sitting in the bleachers together right at the bottom, Darcia wanting to be as close to the action as possible.

Samba passed the time by updating his beastiary. Link, sitting next to Darcia, caught up on old times. Talgo leaned back against the bleacher behind him and dozed. After Samba was done with the beastiary, he got out his guitar and began strumming for fun. Talgo woke up to this and raised an eyebrow, commented that he never knew he played, and went to sit next to Samba for a while, helping teach him some songs he knew. ("Papa plays guitar, too," explained Darcia to Link.)

By then, people had begun to arrive. Many of them gave amazed glances at the blue lizard monster exhibiting signs of extreme intelligence and gentleness. Darcia had to say that his former seat was taken many times. After a couple hours, Talgo sat back in his seat, and Samba strummed a few songs, singing softly. Link was surprised that Samba was actually a very good singer, able to keep pitch and diction, singing clearly even when going so quietly that his growl took most of his voice. Samba smiled at his instrument after a song. "I never really realized it back home," he said, "but I really, _really_ love music..."

"Well, it's a good thing you do, or we'd have an annoying quest," Link chuckled. "Between the Lullaby, Epona's Song, and the Song of Penitence, we're going to be playing a _lot."_

Link ended up playing along with a song or two, though, and whenever one of them finished, the people around them clapped, making them blush. "Is this part of the show?" more than one person asked while people were still arriving.

Eventually, Samba ended up talking to people, explaining he was just a friendly lizalfos from Jgk'hry and he was friends with Link, while Link just talked with Darcia again. Finally, after a couple more hours of sitting, holding spots while the ranchers need the bathroom or had to buy fair food for breakfast, and entertaining themselves, Link and Samba looked around as the tent went dark, the entrance closing. A drumroll started.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" called out Joru's voice as he stepped out, a limelight spotlight shining on him. He held a megaphone in his hand. With the light, Link noticed that there were etchings around the stone ring that, if he squinted, looked somewhat like owls. "I welcome all of you to the Wanderers' wonderful Circus of Wonders!" The crowd cheered. "And now, let the show begin!" Musicians began to play as he introduced the first act.

The show was delightful. Quiy and Prance had a wonderful performance, showing off riding tricks, before Quiy displayed her exotic dancing to the crowd. (Many men leaned in to watch.)

Link and Samba watched intently when they saw Bob come onstage to juggle and give little quips. He left with a yelp when, out of _no_where, Kellese came and skillfully snapped one of his balls from the air, making many laugh as he chased her offstage. They were disappointed when he told not a single actual story.

Next came Phin and Champ, who put on a classic lion tamer's show, complete with chair, whip, and tricks. He even had a small wrestling match where he came out on top, somehow. ("Probably choreographed," Link whispered to Samba when the lizalfos blinked in amazement.)

Bob came back with another interlude, this time throwing cream pies out at the audience. Kellese came and tried to eat one of the pies, but Bob yanked it away. In retaliation, she grabbed another and pied him point blank. Bob yelled and chased the snickering wolfos.

Sparrow and Robin put on a breathtaking performance up above the ring. On the trapezes, they showed off their fearless acrobatics. Link bit his lip again as he watched them balance across the tightrope with a long staff, then with nothing but their arms, and then while doing cartwheels and flips.

Finally, this time, when Bob came onstage again, he came with no props whatsoever, and the spotlight shone on him. He cleared his throat and waited for silence. "I am but a tragic clown," he began, exaggerating every motion he could. His voice was rich and loud without the need for a megaphone. He paused. "Aw, who am I kidding? I _love_ screwing around!" The crowd laughed, and he held his hands up for silence. "But...I have a serious side as well," he continued. He looked over to where Link and Samba were sitting as he said, "For today, I have a tale that adventurous folk will have _especial_ interest in."

Link and Samba leaned in close.

Gesticulating with his entire body, the clown told his tale: "While most legends speak of the elements, this speaks of the mundane...the very things you know of and see every day. It spekas of the materials used to build and destroy empires. Wood, nature's bountiful, beautiful building material; flexible, sturdy, renewable, carvable...Stone, the earth's greatest barrier and foundation; hard, heavy, strong, plentiful, undying...Metal, mankind's most important discovery; stiff yet malleable, cool yet hot, sharp yet blunt, heavy yet light...

"And the very material surrounds you today—cloth. Woven from fibers either plant or animal, cloth is nowhere near as construction-worthy as the previous three, but it is still essential. Without it, humans and zoras would perish in the winter. Without it, we could not express our emotions and messages with a mere glance. Without it, we could not have simple, cool shade in the hot summer heat, nor could we be protected from the wind and rain as we are now. And without cloth, we could not sail ships to other lands, discovering other countries like Holodrum and Labrynna...or perhaps Hyrule itself. All while being light yet strong.

"Yet cloth can be used for sin, as well—choking, blinding, binding...concealing. If you journey around the hill west of Castle Town, northwest of here, and cross the West River, you will find an abandoned tent, much like this one. They say this house of canvas conceals an evil beast that devours or damns all those who fall into its trap. Stay far from it, if you find it—for it is no innocent fair, but a Carnival of Desolation.

"There also exist monsters that abuse these materials...Leviathans...Beware them. For they represent evils that rest in all our hearts. Evils stemming from ignorance. Who knows? Perhaps any one of you might turn into one if you abuse these materials, too, and choose ignorance over consideration.

"And with that," he finished, bowing, "on to the next act."

The crowd applauded, and Link and Samba looked at each other. "Well, we know it's definitely cloth, next," Link said.

"But...does he mean...that it's here?" wondered Samba.

The next act was the magician and his lovely assistant, who performed a few basic acts of parlor magic, including the saw-the-woman-apart-in-boxes-and-put-her-back-together trick.

Then another skit with Bob and Kellese, this time with Bob singing a silly song and doing a little dance, Kellese coming over, watching for a moment, then giving him a wedgie before running off while he gave chase again.

Yobi came on next. He frowned while he looked at a barbell on the ground. He scoffed and proceeded to pick it up with his left arm, standing and yawning with it high above his head while covering a yawn. He then held it out to the side and dropped it, making a loud _thud_ as it hit the ground. He then looked at a heavier weight and picked it up with his right arm, a little more challenging. After dropping that a moment later, he looked out at the audience. He soon found what he wanted and walked over to some people in the front row of another set of bleachers.

Two gorons.

The audience burst out laughing and gasped in amazement as Yobi picked up _both_ of them, one in each arm, and lifted them high, walking back to the center of the ring and turning to show everyone. He let the two (who had curled into boulders) down, and they jogged back to their seats, laughing, as the crowd clapped for him. He bowed, then began walking offstage.

"FAAAAAKE!" a voice from the crowd called loudly.

Yobi stopped and looked around, scowling.

"FAAAAAKE!" the voice repeated, a few more soon joining as it began to chant. "FAKE! FAKE! FAKE! FAKE!"

Yobi snarled and turned before shouting, "WHO SAYS I'M A FAKE! _HUH!"_

Link and Samba looked around, as did a few more people. They found a bunch of teenage boys standing with megaphones made of wood or metal or just rolled-up paper or parchment. They were in the next set of stands over, far away from them. Samba growled and dug into his pebble bag. "Maybe I can Fire Pebble 'em from here," he grumbled. Link grabbed his paw and gave him a look.

Some people in the stand and around the whole tent began to join in the chant. A few behind the group did, too. Talgo glowered behind him. "Whatchu eggin' 'em on for?" he asked.

"There's no _way_ he's that strong!" the man behind him replied. "Those gorons are probably guys in suits!"

Yobi's face was getting redder and madder by the second, fists shaking. Finally, he clenched his eyes shut and body together before springing it open, standing like a challenging gorilla, eyes gleaming red, roaring...skin splitting apart to reveal a complete body of red crystal below.

Link and Samba sucked in their breath through gritted teeth and looked at each other, wide-eyed, while the crowd screamed. "How the _hell_ did this happen?" Link whispered hoarsely.

"Better question—what do we _do?"_ hissed Samba.

"Guys!" They looked at Darcia, who nodded determinedly. "The show must go on!"

Link and Samba looked at each other again, then at Yobi, who was currently stomping to the stands where the teens were currently screaming and backing away. They nodded and got up from the stands, running over and stopping before Yobi, swords drawn. Yobi scowled at them, golem-like body glistening and glowing with a crimson darkness. He roared, then swung out at them.

Link and Samba jumped aside, but Samba yelped as his sword was punched out of his hand. It flew into the stands, where it stuck perilously close to someone's head (the woman fainting soon after). Samba grimaced. "Link! Lead him away!" he called.

Link nodded and called the golem's attention. "C'mon, over here, phoney!" he jeered. This worked well, and Link led him to the ring. There, he turned and spin attacked the oncoming punch away, making Yobi howl in pain. He looked back in the stands at Samba. He was too busy trying to get to his sword. Link nodded. "I'm in this alone, this time," he muttered, facing the man two heads larger than him.

Yobi swung his arms down at him in an attempted grab, moving faster than Link liked, but Link was able to jump aside, then roll around to rise in a spinning Back Slash. The strongman growled and grabbed a barbell to throw at Link, but the swordsman was able to jump aside more than quick enough. He suddenly had a mean, but effective idea: When he saw the golem reel back his arms to grab again, Link quickly set down a bomb before backflipping. Yobi grabbed the bomb instead and looked at it, perplexed, for a moment before it blew up in his face, causing him to yowl in agony and stand, dazed, for a moment. Link took the opportunity to land a sword combo.

Yobi also tried outright punching and kicking Link, which worked a lot better; the poor guy was barely able to avoid the punches by ducking, but the kicks were harder, since they came closer to him. Twice he was sent flying by a punt. He grunted and got up before beginning his assault again. He discovered that the Master Sword did considerable damage, but he surmised that the bomb did a lot, as well. 'Maybe if I bomb him enough...but that's too risky...' He had another idea.

Link got out the Thunderforge again and dodged a kick before giving a mighty swing. _CRUNCH!_ It made Yobi yell and stumble back, kneeling for a moment while he recovered from the pain. Link took the chance to land a good combo on him with the Master Sword. His body cracked and began to glow dimmer afterward.

Link couldn't avoid the rising grab afterward, though, moving too slow. He was grabbed by Yobi, who snarled and slammed him to the ground. Link cried in agony as he lost a full heart. After that, however, Link had the process down: Avoid the melee and thrown attacks, leaving a bomb if he could when he tried a grab, and use either bombs or the Thunderforge to stun him before landing a combo. Fortunately, Yobi did not get any harder as he lost more and more structural integrity and glow.

Finally, Link gave one last combo, finishing with a decisive stab to the belly, and the crystal, dim and spiderwebbed with cracks, turned practically white from even more fissures, losing all glow. Yobi stepped back, swayed, then fell backwards. When he hit the ground, the crystal shattered and Yobi's body was engulfed in an explosion as if a defeated enemy. When the dust settled, he was human again, chest rising and falling as he panted hard.

Link breathed a sigh of relief before doing his fancy sheathing. As soon as he had, the crowd erupted, and he blushed as he turned to them. He rubbed the back of his neck. A moment later, he heard a groaning to his side and looked at Yobi.

Yobi was sitting up, holding his head and grimacing. He shook his head and opened his eyes. "Ugh...I feel like I've been hit by a goron," he grumbled. "What happened...?"

"You'll remember later," Link said, going and helping him up. "Just, ah, get back offstage..."

"Uh, okay," Yobi blinked, getting up. Both bowed to the audience before walking offstage in different directions.

"Well-done, Link!" complimented Samba as the swordsman flopped back into his seat beside the lizalfos. Samba smiled. "I got my sword back halfway through, but I figured you could handle him. You alright?"

Link nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine...I guess we both have had our huge fights with...Shoot, what should we call this stuff?" he asked, frowning.

"Ragite?" suggested Darcia.

The swordsmen blinked, then looked at her. "That's perfect," Samba replied, surprised. "How'd you come up with it?"

"Well, '-ite' is a common thing you stick on the end of minerals, and these guys seem to all have rage in common with 'em, so..." She shrugged. "Simple is simple."

"Well, alright, we'll call it Ragite unless we get some real term," nodded Link.

They watched while, as if nothing unusual had happened, Bob came back on and did another skit with Kellese. Bob was tossing a large bone and spinning it like a baton. When he tossed it up once, though, Kellese ran and, in a flash, caught the bone in her mouth before landing, throwing her head back proudly. She snickered at Bob before starting to trot off. However, this time, the bone _exploded,_ leaving her normally gray, white, and black face covered with flour and blinking. Bob laughed at her, then yelped and began running as _he_ was chased offstage, this time, after Kellese growled, "You're a _dead_ man." The crowd guffawed at the turn of events.

Finally, as the grand finale, all of the acts from before started to go on at once: Quiy rode around on Prance, balancing on his back, while Phin rode on Champ. Sparrow and Robin did some high-flying trapeze action overhead while Yobi carried a juggling Bob on his shoulder. Suddenly, the magician and his lovely assistant appeared from underneath the animals, climbing up top and riding while seated, smiling and waving at the audience. Kellese came back onstage, face clean ("Probably licked all the flour off," snickered Talgo), and jumped up skillfully to Yobi's other shoulder, snapping at Bob's juggling clubs. It wasn't long before a sighing Yobi stood, holding the two apart by their collars (Bob still juggling, Kellese grinning and still snapping, tail wagging).

Finally, the ringleader came out after everyone stopped and held a final pose. "Thank you all for coming this fine day!" Joru called, smiling. "We hope you enjoyed the performance, no matter _how_ rowdy it ended up!"

Some people laughed, everyone applauded. The performers bowed before taking leave. Joru walked over to Link and Samba. "You two, I'd like a word with you," he said, smiling. "Nothing bad, I assure you."

Link and Samba looked at each other, then to the ranchers. They said they'd be fine. Link and Samba looked back, nodding to him.

**. . .**

Out back in the medium-sized tent, Joru stood and sighed, facing them. "I suppose you see what we were hiding," he guessed wryly. "We...We were worried about him. We didn't want others to be worried, too. It's enough that misery naturally loves company..."

"Is Yobi okay?" asked Link.

"Yes," nodded Joru. "He said he wants some time in his tent to gather his thoughts. He would like to see you, however."

Samba crossed his arms, stepping aside while Phin approached with Champ. "How—" he began before getting a huge, scratching slurp in the face from the lion as he passed.

"I think Champ likes ya!" laughed Phin. "Toldja he's a sweetheart!"

Samba wiped his face off with a grimacing smirk while Link and Joru chuckled. He looked back at Joru, trying again. "How long has he been like that—unusually bitter and hateful, thanks to the Ragite?"

"Kellese meant to say a few _weeks, _not days," Joru sighed. "His temper had been getting worse and worse, and he began thinking himself our star attraction, despite us not having any one star." He twirled one end of his moustache. "Urm...He _is_ back to normal now, right?"

"Whatever constitutes as 'normal' for a circus performer," Link shrugged, smirking.

Joru gave a belly laugh. "True enough...thank you two so much." He smiled broadly before grabbing a hand and paw. "You're welcome to come watch our show anytime you want, for free for life. That is the best I can give as a reward."

The swordsmen smiled and nodded. "Thank you very much, Joru," Link nodded.

"That is very generous of you," acknowledged Samba.

Joru released them and chuckled. "Doesn't mean you don't need to pay if you wanna play a few fair games," he added. "And I'm sorry, but the freak show isn't included with admission; we're considering it, though. It's in a large tent in that area. Kellese has gone there. Feel free to talk to them—we encourage our guests to do so!" He stretched. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll be returning to my quarters for a bit of a nap..." He walked out of the tent.

Link and Samba went visit the others in the tent before leaving. Suddenly, the Rings gave their sound and flashes. "Better get that," Samba muttered, pulling his guitar out.

"Hello, sirs? This is Ruedekul speaking. Can you hear me?"

"Yes," Samba nodded. "Did you call us?"

"Yes," Ruedekul confirmed. "I have gotten an idea where a Tool of Nations is. The grass senses a strange, dark power lurking within a large tent...That is all I can say. Does that help?"

"Yes," Link nodded, "thank you."

"It is my pleasure." He probably bowed. "I will leave you to your quest now. Good day." And he "hung up".

Samba crossed his arms and frowned. "A large tent..." he murmured.

"'An abandoned tent, much like this one,'" Link recalled from Bob's story, frowning as well.

Samba smirked. "I think we know our next stop."

"Yeah," nodded Link. "But let's try and have a little fun here and tie up loose ends, shall we?"

Samba frowned. "Well...okay. But we shouldn't waste too much time..."

Phin was busy feeding Champ a wild boar ("Not bullbo, though they can be used as food, too," Samba confirmed). "We performed excellently today!" Phin commented when they talked to him. "Champ was at the top of his game, as usual. He's got such a sweetie, I know he could never get taken by that...Ragite, you called it? But yeah, don't worry—he's _truly_ lionhearted!"

Champ just growled at them. "Better stay away from him while he's eating," warned Phin. "He's a nice kitty, except when there's food involved."

"That was absolutely fantastic, dears!" applauded Quiy when they entered her room. "I'm sorry for keeping Yobi's problem a secret like that—Joru said we shouldn't tell anyone so that we don't scare off customers...or worse: Get told by the law we have to stop our performances..." She sighed. "But we were more worried about him than ourselves...Joru was, too."

When they went outside, they found the sky beginning to cloud over. Candy wasn't in her tent. "She's part of the freak show, remember?" reminded Samba when Link tilted his head. The human knocked his forehead at his forgetfulness.

They found Yobi sitting on his cot inside his tent, elbows on knees, head bent, lost in thought. "Excuse me, Mr. Yobi?" Link asked as he approached cautiously.

Yobi looked up at him. "Hm? Oh!" He smiled and sat upright. "You're the boy that stopped me from harming our audience today! Thank you for that!" His voice was full and, to their surprise, not deep, but normal-toned. He nodded. "Let me properly introduce myself—I'm Yobi, strongest human in Hyrule." He held his hand to Link.

Link took it, finding his grip just right—firm, but not painful like he expected. "Link, uh...descendant of the hero," he replied.

Samba raised an eyeridge. "What's with the title?" he asked.

Link shrugged. "Well, everyone else here has one..."

"We already have one, though." Samba offered his paw, smiling, and Yobi took it. "Samba, Knight of Dualty..._Din's_ Knight of Dualty."

"Ah!" Link nodded. "And I'm Farore's Knight of Dualty," he added.

"Heh, knights, eh?" Yobi raised a bemused eyebrow. "Never heard of a monster knight before. Wait..." He frowned, looking up, rubbing his chin. "...I _have_ heard of one...a dragon knight...but that's an old legend."

"Dragon knight?" Samba asked, tilting his head. "Never heard of that before...Wouldn't dragons be a bit big for knights?"

Yobi chuckled. "Not a dragon knight," he said, waggling a finger with a wink. "The legend says they could change size and shape at will. They had the hearts of true dragons—noble and strong." He crossed his leg, resting calf on quad. "However, they were very rare, and eventually died out. But the legend says they may have simply transformed to hide."

"Hm..." Samba stroked his chin. "Interesting."

"You wanted to talk to us?" Link asked.

Yobi nodded. "I wanted to thank you for freeing me from that spell," he said softly, smiling faintly. "As soon as I went offstage, I found out what you meant, Link—I remembered all the things I'd done over the past month." He sighed, shaking his head. "And I realized that I'd been festering those feelings of...of...inferiority, of...exclusion...jealousy...all along."

Link and Samba looked at each other. "Are you sensing a pattern, here?" Link eyebrow-raised.

"That these thoughts aren't just put there? At least not entirely? Yeah," nodded Samba. They looked back. "Go on."

Yobi looked up, frowning as he gesticulated. "That's right, I've been feeling jealous of the others soon after I joined the Wanderers," he continued. "But...somehow, that crystal...It entered me somehow, I don't know how, and...enhanced my feelings over time..." He looked down at his legs. "I became obsessed with becoming the star attraction, and I looked at the others with malice...I forgot our promise that every performer in the troupe would be as important as every other performer in his or her way."

He held his hand up, looking at it. "I felt...like I should be running this place. Or something...I got sensitive to criticism, and, well...you saw what happened." The strongman shook his head, running his hands through his hair. "I remember all the times I snapped at everyone, and all the feelings I had felt...I feel horrible." He paused, switching legs. "...I think I'm going to quit."

Link and Samba started, stepping back. _"What?"_ both went.

"I don't think I should be with a group that I'm jealous of," Yobi reasoned, holding his hands up, brow knit with a small smile. "I hear that Holodrum has this traveling show that I could join..."

Link shook his head, frowning. "Yobi, this wasn't entirely your fault," he averred. "You know that. And the others need you. You're an important part of the show."

"Everyone was worried about you, but they didn't want to spread their worry," Samba added. He looked up in thought. "...I think Kellese in particular was worried about you. She was awfully evasive..."

"Oh?" Yobi raised his eyebrows in genuine surprise. "Kellese is a friend, true, but...how evasive are you talking?"

"Before we could ask if she'd seen or heard anything strange or troubling, she bolted," Samba recounted flatly.

"But she was the first to admit something was wrong," Link pointed out, brow furrowed. "She said you'd been moody the past few days."

Yobi chuckled. "Yes, that sounds more like her," he nodded. "Did you say anything about her being a wolfos?"

"Well, I mentioned how I thought they had all died out," Samba muttered.

"That's it," Yobi pointed. "She's kind of touchy about that. But you'd better talk to her about it—she'd bite me if she found I told you!" He laughed.

Link smiled. "Then I think I know who was more worried about you," he said. "Candy."

"Candy?" Yobi repeated softly, blushing a little.

"She wrung her wrists and had this look of pain on her face when we asked our question," recollected Link, "and she glanced in the direction of your tent."

Yobi smiled slowly. "Ah...heh...She's always been so nice to me...And I've helped her keep fit," he murmured.

Link and Samba smirked at each other briefly. "She'd probably be awfully sad if you left," Samba shrugged. "She might start comfort eating and get unfit...end up unable to move anymore..."

Yobi scowled and stood. "Like _heck_ she will!" he nearly bellowed. "If she does, why, I'll..." He faltered a moment, expression falling.

"And you contrast so well with the other acts," Link added. "They've got oddities, humor, courage, dexterity, and grace, but no sheer force."

"No example of the limits of the human body," Samba reiterated.

"And no good-looking male for the women in the audience," Link smirked.

Yobi slowly smiled as he bowed his head, chuckling. "You're right," he said quietly. He looked up again, grinning, and gave them a bear hug. "Thank you, Link, Samba...You're right. I can't quit. People need me."

Link squeaked, then smiled sheepishly at him. "Not a problem," he replied.

"Yeah," Samba agreed. _"Yasyas."_

Yobi chuckled and let them go. "Thanks so much," he said. "I feel better than ever before!" He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think I'm going to take a walk, enjoy the beautiful day. Hope to see you two again soon!" He walked between them through the flap.

Link and Samba left as well, then went to the acrobats' tent. They were sitting on the grass outside, looking at the clouds. "Oh, hey, you two!" greeted Sparrow happily.

"You have a good time, all things considered?" giggled Robin.

"We did," Sparrow gesticulated. "What better thrill than flying through the air with only your own skills and partner to trust?" (They had performed without a net.)

Link shuddered. "I've had many...'thrills' myself, but one I'll happily let you two enjoy is that tightrope," he remarked.

"Hey, if you're quick, you can grab yourself before you fall," shrugged Robin.

"And besides, don't those rings ya got make you guys the Knights of Dualty?" Sparrow asked, smirking. "Heh, you look surprised! Bob's told us a ton of stories, including the legend of the Knights of Dualty."

"You know, how three rings that together make the crest of the Royal Family allow two people to share that fancy Master Sword ya got?" Robin reminded. "If you two are around, things are a bit more troubling than we thought!"

Link and Samba exchanged eyebrow/-ridge raises before moving on. They high-stepped into Bob's tent to find him wiping his face off with a cloth. "Ah, the Knights return, having learned a lesson from experience," he snickered. "Thanks for helping Yobi, by the way."

"You have any idea what that red crystal stuff is?" Link wondered.

"Hmmm..." Bob stroked his chin. "...I have, but I'll have to glance through my reference book for my stories. In case you haven't figured it out, I'm also the troupe's storyteller," he added, holding his arms out near his waist.

"Yeah...That story you told us," Samba said, pointing a couple times. "It exists, right?"

"Of course it does," Bob laughed, raising an eyebrow. "Otherwise I wouldn't've called your attention to it beforehand."

"Do you know the locations of the other Tools of Nations?" Link wondered.

Bob smirked, holding his chin while he half-eyed. "Mayyyyybe," he replied playfully. "Now, shoo, I've got to change." He made the gesture with his hands.

They left and went out into the small crowd gathered on the far side of the tent. The people commented on the show, Samba, or one of the more local features. "Was that all an act, Greenie? ...It wasn't? Oh, come on, that _had _to be planned..." "This is the eighth time I've seen this show, and it changes each time. I love it!" "The Wanderers travel around to the same few spots in Hyrule in a cycle. That makes it handy to come see them because you know where they'll be if you're a traveller, yourself." "You're a good musician, lizardman! You should join the show and perform—you'll earn a lot of money!" "Eek! A monster! ...Oh...? I'm sorry!" "Are you the newest addition to the freak show? I'm just kidding! Besides, they already have a talking monster." "The magician from the show and his pretty friend is in that tent there. Daddy likes to go in and learn magic tricks...but I don't think Mommy likes it..." _"Ooooh,_ that man's sleeping on the floor tonight if he keeps this up...!" "That woman in there tells your fortune for 20 rupees. They're astonishingly accurate...IF you can figure out what she's talking about, that is."

"These games are just a waste of time and money, but I promised my kid I'd get him a stuffed doggy...I stink at the game it's in, though," lamented a man. "I've tried a few times already, but I can't win it, and I'm running out of rupees..."

"What if I got it for you?" Link offered.

"Really? You'd do that for a stranger?" the man asked incredulously. "I'll give you something good in return if you do, I promise!" He pointed to the right-hand booth, which was wholly open with an odd, lounge chair-like object. (The archery booth was the middle one. The left booth had a line in front of it.) "It's that one right there, the Roll Ring Game. I stink at it, but it's really fun, so if you don't get it, at least it'll be entertaining."

Link and Samba went over. The object had a shallow wooden ramp that ended in a smooth, sharp curve up. An array of circles was mounted on the slanted back, mostly in the center but with one circle at either upper corner, as was a large half-circle below all this. Holes sat within the smaller rings, and presumably the larger, though it was hard to see from where they stood. Numbers of different values depending on hole location were painted on the rings. Nets covered the sides around the backboard and the front while a thin wood roof covered the top of the backboard. The woman with a porkpie hat at the booth smiled and waved.

"Step right up! Test your skill with this here Roll Ring Game!" she advertised. "Care to give it a try, sirs? Only 10 rupees for 10 tries!" She took Link's rupees and pulled up a plate on the side of the device. Ten orange-sized wooden balls tumbled down, visible from a long hole cut into one of the short, hollow walls of the ramp. "You need the rules?" Link nodded. "Roll these balls with a good ninepins arm and aim for the highest-scoring holes ! Gauge your strength and time your release, and give it all you got! You can start whenever you're ready. Take your time and have fun!"

Link nodded, then focused. 'I should do a few tests to get a feel for how hard I should go at first,' he thought. He did so, and by the time he finished, he had a good idea what to do. He had hit the bottom area of the entire array (thus 0 points) once, the large arc once (10 points), and each other one twice each.

"Aw, that was only 490 points," snapped the booth lady, who sounded disappointed despite her smile. "You don't win anything for that. You've gotta score a full 1,000 points to win the top prize, at least 850 for second place, and at least 600 for last. Wanna try again?"

Link did. 'I have to aim at the corners, where those 100-point holes are,' he reminded himself. It took him three more tries after that to win the top prize. He managed to get last prize his third time, which was a tasty caramel apple. Second time, second prize, and he got the stuffed doggie. "Great, let's go," Samba said, but Link, determined, handed him the toy, promising once more. This final time, the booth lady clapped.

"Well done, sir! You got 1,000 points! Congrats!" she cheered. "You get your choice of top prize:" She pointed at some of the prizes hanging up at the back of the booth, going in order to a life-sized pink hippo plushie, a propeller beanie with a baseball cap visor, and piece of parchment with writing and a map on it. "A giant stuffed toy to give your girlfriend, a nifty souvenir cap with a stylish visor, or a voucher for Kwilliam's, the finest map-maker in Hyrule?"

Link, who had been disappointed with the prizes up until then, shot up his eyebrows and pointed at the voucher. "I'll take it!"

"Good, because if you took either of the other two without having someone to give them to, I'd be worried," the carny snarked, grabbing the parchment down with a long hook. "Thanks for playing!"

Link smiled and nodded, then turned to Samba, holding the voucher. "You know, it never made sense to me or Grandpa why anyone would let people get stuff for less like this," he mused.

They returned to the man from before, and Samba gave him the toy. "Oh, _thank_ you," the man grinned, breathing a sigh of relief as he took the toy. "My kid'll be ecstatic! Here, take this—I bought it thinking it was the kind that restores your energy. Go ahead and keep the bottle, too—I've got plenty back home." He handed Samba a bottle of green potion.

The two looked at it with big grins. "A new bottle!" Samba crowed. "But...you should get it, Link." He smiled sheepishly at his friend. "You won the prize, after all."

Link smiled and shook his head. "No, you can keep it," he said. "What use do I have for green potion?"

"Well, I could use it, then give it to you..."

"After _your_ lips touched it? No, thanks!"

Samba laughed and punched him lightly in the arm. "C'mon, let's walk around a bit more," he said, putting the potion away, the overcast sky above giving little light to reflect off its sides.

They ran into a bunch of teenagers who looked awfully familiar. They went over and talked to their leader, the one who had begun the whole fiasco. "Oh! You're that guy...uh...S-Sorry about before...We just thought it'd be funny...Don't sic your lizard on us!" He cowered.

"Lizalfos..." Samba corrected, rolling his eyes.

The leader stood straight again, raising his eyebrows. "Oh? Sorry—" he resumed cowering, "—don't sic your _lizalfos_ on us!"

"Actually, we're here to thank you," Link smirked. "At least partly."

"You're..._thanking_ us?" one of the other teens asked while their leader uncringed.

"If you hadn't brought out the Ragite sleeping inside him, Link never could have...'purified' him, I guess," explained Samba.

"That said, though, that was _still_ uncalled for," Link admonished. "We're lucky people didn't get hurt."

"Sorry..." the leader said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down. "We didn't think that'd happen..."

"Well, y'all shouldn't'a been doing that in the first place," scolded Talgo as he and Darcia walked up. He crossed his arms. "I oughtta wallop y'all..."

"We won't do nothin' anymore!" promised the leader of the teens, clasping his hands. "We promise, don't we?" He looked over his shoulder.

"Uh-huh!" all the other boys nodded, clasping hands, as well.

The leader looked back again. "Please don't hurt us!" he begged.

Talgo scoffed, uncrossing his arms. "If I hear y'all raise trouble again, I'm gonna make y'all work yer hides off _pro bono_ for a month at my ranch," he threatened darkly.

The teens gulped and nodded. "Yessir," they understood.

"Now git."

They walked off quickly.

The four watched them go off, then Talgo sighed, putting his hands on his hips and shaking his head. "I wish kids these days were more like y'all," he mumbled. Link, Samba, and Darcia smiled and chuckled.

"You think they got affected by some Ragite, too?" wondered Darcia, frowning.

"Only time will tell, at least at this point," Link replied, shrugging.

"We can't see any of it on them until they go berserk," explained Samba.

"Alright...They're from Ybayba," Darcia said. "I'll keep an eye on 'em."

"Thanks," Link nodded.

"Alright, enough depressin' stuff, back ta havin' fun!" Talgo announced, rubbing his hands together.

Darcia pointed at the booths. "C'mon, Papa, I wanna try some of them games there!" she told her father. She smiled at the boys. "Y'all don't have to stick with us, guys. We know you've got important stuff to do."

"Yeah, we're going to wander around a bit more," Link said. He waved, smiling. "Have fun, and good luck!"

The ranchers bade goodbye to them before standing in line for the left game. "Let's not bother with that," Samba decided with a slight growl, grabbing Link's shoulder before he went over.

"Yeah...we're running low on money, too..." Link sighed. "I need to get a bigger wallet, but nobody sells 'em."

"Me too," Samba frowned, bringing out his smallish bag with a green rupee embedded in the burlap. "You'd think they'd be more common..."

"But they say they're expensive, too," Link added, frowning. "Anyway, let's get going."

Link and Samba walked over to the magician's tent. A man was standing inside, watching the magician demonstrate a card trick...glancing up every so often at the woman sitting in the back, reading a book. "Oh, it's you two!" the magician greeted them, looking up. He glanced at the man. "Sir, why don't you try?" he suggested before beckoning the two over. "It was a bit loud before, and my tent has no sign, so you might not've heard my name—The Great Granolini!" He doffed his top hat. "Thank you for helping our friend."

"No problem," Link replied. He smiled sorrily. "You're a bit busy, aren't you?"

"Afraid so..." The Great Granolini leaned over and whispered, cupping his mouth away from the man, "This guy's here to ogle at my lovely assistant, but I can't shoo him away professionally. You'll have to wait a while if you want to talk to me..."

The duo went back to the fortune teller's tent. "Ah, welcome," the woman with shawls sprawled over her whole body greeted in an airy voice. Her hair was white and her eyes red. She sat on a chair in her dark tent with a crystal ball before her on a table. "I remember disappointing you before when you asked me about strange goings-on..." She produced a red rupee. "I feel guilty for that. Please accept this refund."

Link held the rupee happily for a moment before putting it away. "Thank you, madam," he nodded.

"You are most welcome, O Knight of Dualty," the fortune teller giggled. "I foresaw your arrival. Please, come in, I have much to tell you...if you ask. I'll charge _after_ you ask, this time."

Link and Samba sat in the two chairs before her. "Well, if you can see the future and that kinda stuff," Samba said skeptically, raising an eyeridge, "could you tell us where Princess Zelda is?"

The mystic shook her head sadly. "You have _no_ idea how often I am asked that," she groaned. "But the truth is, Princess Zelda is impossible to scry on, due to her inborn psychic power," she explained more professionally. "However...I do have the power to point you in the right direction on your quest to save Hyrule from the evil slowly clouding over the land." She snickered. "But for a price, of course. I can also help you when you seek gold or...jewels."

"Jewels? What kind?" wondered Link.

"20 rupees, please," smirked the fortune teller.

Link half-eyed. "You knew this would happen, didn't you?" he asked, giving back the red rupee he had just been given.

"Not this time," she chuckled, pocketing the gem. She waved her hands over the crystal ball, muttering something for a couple seconds. "AH!" she cried suddenly. She smiled. _"Search quite nearby when the moon is high."_

"Betcha it's at that last booth," Link whispered to Samba. Samba sighed.

"Anything else I may help with?" the fortune teller asked.

"No, but thank you," Samba replied, clapping Link's mouth shut.

"Return when your way is clouded," the fortune teller bade as they stood.

Link frowned at Samba, crossing his arms as they stepped out of the tent. "I was just going to ask what she meant by gold," he pouted.

"And she woulda charged another 20, and that woulda come outta _my_ wallet, too," Samba predicted, raising a non-plussed eyeridge. "Honestly, for a kid raised in a shop, you've sure been failing at being thrifty today..."

"Hey," Link swatted his shoulder, "everything I've bought today has ended up gaining something of use to both of us. Ended up getting that bottle for you, right?"

Samba sighed in defeat. "Yeah, you're right...C'mon, let's visit the beautiful ladies," he pointed at the freak show.

"Just 30 rupees apiece to see the oddest things you'll ever meet!" advertised the carny in front of the freak show tent brightly.

Samba half-eyed at him. "Really? What if we can prove that we've seen odder?" he asked bluntly.

"Then you get in free," the carny replied confidently.

"Inside there is an obscenely obese woman and a she-wolfos. We're a human and a blue lizalfos enjoying a day at the circus together," Link pointed out.

The carny blinked. "You're right, that _is_ odder," he admitted in a mutter. He sighed. "Go in, go in..."

Link and Samba entered, high-fiving. They were the only ones inside the medium-sized tent with a fence as high as a counter between them and the two ladies within. The women smiled as they saw the familiar faces. "Hi, dearies!" waved Candy, who had been humming to herself and dancing a little again. "Welcome to the hottest tent around!"

"Yeah, between her fat and my fur and the lack of windows, we're roasting," Kellese added wryly, walking over and leaning on the fence with a smirk, tail wagging a little.

"Worst part is they charge so much to see us, nobody really comes in," Candy added, frowning as she joined her friend. Her blobbiness spilled over the fence and made it creak a little; she was smart enough not to lean on it.

"Yeah, we had to sorta trick him to get in," Samba thumbed over his shoulder. "And Link, if that didn't work, think showing him my beastiary would? Anyone can tell it's hand-drawn, and nobody'd go through that much trouble to duck 60 rupees."

"Probably," shrugged Link.

"So, just wanted to visit? Kellese asked.

"Pretty much," Samba shrugged.

"Heehee..." Candy smiled warmly at them, voice softening. "I heard about how you dearies helped out Yobi," she said. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Yobi's...very important to me."

"Awooo," teased Kellese flatly, and she cackled while Candy shoved her, blushing.

"I-It's not like that!" Candy insisted, crossing her arms over her generous bosom. "We're just very good friends."

Kellese elbowed her love handle with a more serious raised eyebrow. "C'mon, don't be such a sissy. He's a handsome, nice guy!" she coaxed. "Just admit you've got a you-sized cr—"

_"Hush,"_ Candy ordered unamusedly, grabbing her head and burying it in her belly fat, muffling her, blushing deeper.

Kellese laughed into her gut before slipping out and grinning wolfishly at her friend. "You just don't wanna say it in front of them," she figured out. Her face fell. "Really, it's been a long time...just say it, you'll feel better..."

"Say what? There's nothing to say," Candy insisted, looking away. Kellese pursed her lips, then sighed in defeat.

"Say, Kellese?" Samba looked at her. "Could we talk a sec?"

Kellese nodded at him. "Sure! What about?" She smiled sweetly, tail wagging.

"Well...wolfos," Samba answered quietly, looking carefully at her.

Kellese's tail stopped wagging as she perked her ears and eyebrows up, then looked away, flattening her ears. "...I...would rather not...talk about it..." she mumbled.

Candy delicately put a sausage-fingered hand on Kellese's furry shoulder. "Kellese, I know it's hard," she said softly, "but Bob's told everyone about the story of the Rings of Dualty...and I bet even Phin can tell the Master Sword when he sees it. Not only that, you saw Link use the Rings right before your eyes!"

"I...I know they're the Knights of Dualty," she murmured, hugging herself, "but...do they really need to know...?"

Candy hugged the wolfos to her body gently, her fat providing a soft cushion all around her furry frame. "I think so," Candy replied. "I mean..." She looked at them, smirking a little. "...you two know by now where you need to go, don't you?"

Link and Samba nodded. "That abandoned circus in Western Hyrule Fields," answered the hylian.

"Yup," the wide woman nodded. She turned back to the wolfos, swaying a little, rubbing her arms. "See? They'll find it more likely than not. Why not—"

_"No!"_ barked Kellese, pushing away from Candy and going to the tent wall, tail down low.

Candy frowned, lowering her eyebrows into a line, putting her fists on her hips, wobbling her whole body. "Quit acting like a _little_ bitch and start acting like a _grown_ one!" she chided.

Kellese shot her a withering look. "You have no right to lecture _me_ about being a coward until _you_ stop being one!" she retorted.

Candy bit her lip, stepping back a bit. "I...I'm no coward!" she flustered. "I'm not afraid of anything, except things that are perfectly sensible things to be afraid of!"

Link and Samba, watching this drama unfold, heard some footsteps approaching, looked over their shoulders, then stepped to the same side as Kellese. "Don't lie! You know damn well what I mean!" Kellese turned, pointing at her, tears starting in her eyes.

Candy brought her eyebrows down into angry slants, making her seem intimidating with her bulk. "I'll _prove_ it to you, then!" she pointed. She put a hand on where her sternum would be and declared, "When we get our lunch break, I'm going to go over to Yobi, turn to his face, and say—" Here she turned her body smartly towards the entrance, then froze as she found herself making direct eye contact with Yobi. _"—'Yobi?'"_ she squeaked.

Yobi was standing there, eyebrows raised, blushing, sweating a bit. "...C...Candy," he returned, throat parched.

Candy's entire skintight outfit became even darker as she broke out in a sweat all over. She glanced over at Kellese, who was standing, a little surprised as she watched, but still looking at her with angry expectation, tears starting to soak into her facial fur. Candy looked back at Yobi's eyes. Then, clenching her fists and setting her beet-red face resolutely, she took a deep breath through her nose, then gulped. "...'I'..." she began quietly before her eyes darted away. She closed them for a second, then looked up again, locking gazes with iron in her sight.

Confidently, but gently, Candy finished: "I love you."

Sound vanished. The air disappeared. Outside, the sun slowed its crawl through the sky. All grayed away from perception...except for Candy and Yobi. Two enormous hylians standing in a stuffy tent, separated by a railing either could smash with a small step, but could not pass with all the might in the world. Eyes bound in place with spice, ginger swirling with hazel. Sweat beading on brows, creeping down temples, sliding across cheeks, gathering on chins. Dripping. Falling.

"...I love you, too."

Feeding the earth below their feet with a dose of salt.

The world returned with an unheard _splish_ to find Candy and Yobi embracing each other silently. Yobi held with all his strength, Candy's soft body protecting her from crushing, and Candy rested all the weight of her head and arm over his shoulders, Yobi's firm body protecting him from falling. Outside, it began to rain, as a drum beat began overhead, following an accelerando.

Finally, after a moment, the two parted, smiling at each other, holding arms, tears falling from eyes to mix with their sweat. "I'll never go away," Yobi vowed.

"I'll never give up," vowed Candy.

A sniff brought attention back to the side of the tent. Link and Samba looked beside them to Kellese, who stood with mouth hanging slightly agape in disbelief, crying, herself. She shook her head. "Th...That...I..."

Candy smiled warmly. "Your turn, sweetie," she murmured.

Kellese looked between the two lovers and the two fighters for a few moments before clenching her eyes, teeth, and fists. Suddenly, she vaulted over the railing and ran outside, going to all fours.

The two pairs of partners, the one friendly and the other romantic, blinked a moment at the entrance of the tent before looking at each other before muttering the same reaction: _"Uh_-oh."

"She just ran off!" the carny at the entrance to the freak show tent pointed, sounding worried when the four scrambled out of the tent. "See? You can still see her over there in the distance!"

"That's northwest, isn't it?" asked Link, hooding his brow from the medium rain as he looked at a quickly fading figure.

"Link! Samba!" They looked towards the tent and saw Joru running towards them from the other side. The four ran to meet him. Joru stopped, clutching his knees and panting. "I just saw...Kellese run off!" he exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"Long story," Candy replied quickly.

"We'll explain," Yobi said. "For now, we need to get to her, quick!"

"Already on it," Link informed, pulling his ocarina out while Samba did his guitar. Together, they played Epona's Song as fast as they could while being clear. To their relief, they heard a neigh in the distance. Making people jump out of the way, Epona sped to Link. He mounted her while Samba stood by her.

"Uh, come back soon," Joru bade hastily as Link reared Epona around and the adventurers dashed away at top speed.

Darcia, finally at the booth, stopped and spun as she watched them depart. "Welp, back to adventure," she muttered.

"She's pausing to rest a bit," Samba noticed as they pursued the she-wolfos. "We just need to keep after her until she runs out of breath!"

"And we don't run out!" Link nodded. "Just gotta moderate our dashes..."

Samba and Epona dashed as soon as their energy returned from the last dash, and gradually, though enemies sprang up from the damp field, which they plowed through or ignored entirely, and she weaved this way and that, they neared Kellese.

_"KELLESE!"_ called Samba when they were only a few yards behind her. The rain was worsening, wind blowing from behind. _"WAIT!"_

_"NO!"_ barked Kellese back over her shoulder, snarling. _"Leave me ALONE!"_

"Link, we'll have to subdue her," Samba realized, looking up at him. "Boomerang her, I'll dash ahead!"

Link nodded and pulled out his boomerang. Samba began to dash as fast as he could, pouring all the energy he had into hopping like never before.

Kellese glanced back as she heard mumbling on the wind. She scowled at the boomerang and the approaching lizalfos, then tossed her head up and howled. It sounded for all the world like she was singing two sets of three odd, ascending notes.

Link let fly his boomerang in the middle of it. However, as soon as she finished, a whirlwind abruptly kicked up around her body, whipping the angle of wood far off course. (It magically arced back to Link, flying weakly.)

_"Get BACK here!"_ roared Samba, who had gotten close by then. He dived through the whirlwind, arms outstretched, before the wind accelerated enough that debris and rain formed a visual barrier.

_"SAMBA!"_ Link called as Epona skidded to a halt at what she recognized as something you should NOT get near. Suddenly, the whirlwind compressed to the ground, forming a sphere that grew two wings of wind, which gave a mighty flap before the whole thing rocketed to the sky in the blink of an eye. Link sat on Epona, gaping at what just happened. "How did...What just...They..." he muttered. Standing up in his stirrups, he cried out to the empty, wet fields, **_"SAMBAAAAA!"_**

**. . .**

_**omake**_

**. . .**

***Ruedekul is helping Krungratrg and Anjoltvrya build a well in the center of Here. He's carrying over the supports for the winch to the well. The well itself had been dug already, as evidenced by the amount of dirt all around a huge hole. Krungratrg had just deposited an armful of human-head-sized rocks onto a sheet of plywood-thin wood, and Anjoltvrya is working on mixing together Roman concrete.***

**Ruedekul:** Krungratrg, did you _really_ have to make the hole so_ big?_

**Krungratrg:** *sits, pouting, as he picks up some stones and, holding them in his paw, directs them to break apart into aggregate* Well, _you_ asked _me_ to dig it...and I'm a big guy who digs by burrowing!

**Ruedekul:** *sighs* Maybe I should have—*gasps and stops, dropping his load with a loud clunking clatter*

Krungratrg: Watch it, you almost dropped the stuff down the hole!

**Anjoltvrya:** *looks over, raising eyebrows* What is it?

**Ruedekul:** *looks skyward, wide-eyed* I sense...something actually somewhat _dramatic_ just happened...

**. . .**

Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, this is an example of the characters taking the story in directions you didn't originally plan it to. And I'm _still_ not ready to call it quits until I make the dungeon. _Hoooo,_ boy...

To be honest, though, it was a lot of fun, having so much to do at the circus. (I know, it should really be a fair, but...) Also, I'll admit, I got poetic with that love scene up there. What can I say? I like big stuff, if you haven't noticed yet *strangles his furry side _à la_ Homer to Bart*. I also put the map thing there because I'm tired of having them be so pricey, discouraging Link and Samba from buying many. Buying the map in parts was a stupid idea, despite being realistic.

Welp, I'd better end this and do stuff...CURSE YOU, FANFIC MUUUUUSE! *shakefish*


End file.
